The check gage lite comes on when I start the car when it is cold

Gage cluster issue, could be a bus ground issue too. These are not easy to fix and usually you send the cluster out to a third party shop to be checked and rebuilt.

natural for engine temp to rise in Traffic - Until Themostat opens ) cooling fan sensor kicks on fan . But Antifreeze is not just a Cold weather item . Coolant is Absolutely Necessary for Hot Days . You must be full to recovery bottle setting of cold when checked prior to start up . Coolant for your make / model is Reddish - Pink colour and should have a reading of -25 thats negative 25 degrees the Lower the Better even - 50 .. Why ?? - 50 is 50 %% antifreeze / Coolant Concentrate MIX Gives Hot weather cooling Ability or very cold weather starting / winter HEAT .

I would start by checking your battery and cables good voltage. I would alternator aswell.

i would check the heater core or look to see if a vaccume hose has come apart behind the controle. maybe even a rod in later years.

ok its one of two things you need to check when it cuts off if you have spark or fuel if you lose fuel pressure replace pump it gets hot and makes noise like its running but its not pumping fuel and if you lose spark you need to replace ignition control module has a hair line crack in it and when gets hot the crack expands and loses contact and wala no spark

Check gauges light only comes on when one of the gauges is out of perameter. Check to see which of the gauges is not working properly and then check that system.

First of all, it doesn't sound like your thermostat is working correctly to keep good hot/warm air coming , so I would change that, or have it changed for better heating inside. If you lift the hood & look in front of your radiator, On the engine side, you'll see a fan attached to, or in front of the radiator. It won't come on until the coolant temperature gauge gets up to proper operating temperature. Without getting in to too much detail, have your thermostat changed, and my guess is everything else will start working as it should, and whoever does the work, should know enough to check the fan operation when they do the thermostat.

They get gumed up(more so if they have sat for awhile) other than pulling them out of the tank. the easyest thing to do is add some antiguming fuel additive to your gas. it takes some time. It will losen them up.

Just finished fixing my daughters 1999 taurus heat. It would blow warm only when running down the road. At idle it blew cold. I started with replacing thermostat, and water pump because they are the easier fix. Still did not help. Then I replaced the heater core. A daunting job but not that hard to move the dash slighly out of the way to replace. There is a good write up at tarusclub.com. After that, heat was better but at idle, it would still blow cool sometimes. Researched and found answer. Park car on the steepest hill you can find with front of car up. Start car and take off reservoir cap. Let car warm up and keep rpms about 1500. After a while the fluid will come running out of the car and all over the place but it will bring air bubbles with it. Reduce rpm, add more fluid and repeat about 3 times. It will make a mess but after that, the heater works perfectly. We get heat long before the temp gage indicates any and it never blows cold unless you lower the temp.

That may be a sign of a bad alternator. start you car and take the positive batter cable off the battery. If the car dies replace the alternator. That is a really good sign that your alternator is bad.