So I'm out today, leisurely drive, been on the go for half hour or so when I glance down and see the temp gauge off the scale!! Literally past the red even, almost at the 12 o'clock position!!

Cr*p myself almost, wondering how long it's been like that before I noticed, but pull over, check under the bonnet as you do for anything obvious, but nothing that I can see. Car doesn't seem any hotter than usual, top and bottom hoses both warm, coolant levels normal etc, car was driving fine, nothing out of the ordinary. Fan was not running but then I was driving like a vicar so not sure that it would have been?

So I give it ten minutes to cool down a bit, I'm only 2 miles from home, so start her up again and literally trundle home with no probs. Temp gauge went straight back to off the scale, even after a ten minute cool down, immediately after starting up again.

Get home, same thing, check again for anything obvious but nothing that I can see. Fan wasn't running at this point either but again, not sure if it needed to be?
Leave the car for about 4 hours, now totally cold, just flick the ignition back on and the temp gauge goes straight back to off the scale, cars not even running!

So what do you reckon? What should I check first do you think? How can I check that the fan is working correctly is my first thought?

And is it likely to be a faulty gauge or sender unit? As I don't actually know that the car is overheating, could be a faulty sensor perhaps?

And help greatly appreciated

Cheers,
DW.