Temp Gauge Check

[Almightytomo]

How do I check that my temperature gauge is working correctly?

The gauge takes a while to move and doesn't make it to the middle (over the light?) so I'm bothered that it's not working properly as the engine appears to work fine and gets hot.

[kevtherev]

If it doesn't make it to the middle and takes a while... the thermostat is either faulty or more likely missing.

87 deg C is what your engine runs at iirc
The gauge should begin to move quite soon after starting (6-10mins) and steadily climb, mine goes just past the middle briefly as the thermostat opens, lets coolant in and the gauge drops to just before
checking it is problematic. As the system is under about 1 bar pressure, this allows the coolant temp to go higher without boiling.
you could try an infa red temp tester pointed at the big steel coolant pipe to the water pump.

[Almightytomo]

Easiest solution would be to change the thermostat in the first place then?

[kevtherev]

Might be a good call...at least you can rule it out should you still have issues.

Buy a quality one from Brickwerks.