most likely the gauge
No ur AC should still work it may just be that your gauge is jammed and just needs to be loosened take it to the nearest garage as you dont want any overheating of the car or it will costs you $$$
You most definately unpluged the sensor wire. It's a single red wired that plugs onto a sensor just passed the thermostat.
check the water pump.
Just to the side of the thermostat housing.
The engine temp gauge is in the instrument cluster and the sending unit for the temperature gauge is in the intake manifold just to the left of the thermostat housing when you are looking from the front of the Explorer ( the larger sending unit to the right of the thermostat housing is for the EEC IV system)
Located just below thermostat
your car is broken
Could be a faulty thermostat or maybe just low on coolant.
A thermostat can stick occasionally or fail altoghether so the symptoms can be different, depending on what the thermostat is doing. Sometimes they stick until the temperature goes to an extreme. When that happens, the engine can get very cold and/or very hot before the thermostat opens or closes, then suddenly the temperature will change within just a few seconds. If the thermostat is just plain stuck or stops working altoghether, the engine will either overheat or stay relatively cool. You almost need to imagine what's going on to cause the condition that you're seeing.
A faulty thermostat might cause the temp gauge on the 2000 Nissan Altima to raise to hot when the car is not overheating. A faulty thermostat can cause the gauge to move up and down and might even turn the fan on.
possible plugged radiator, sticking thermostat, rad fan not working, temperature sensor not working, low coolant level. that's just a starting point. possible plugged radiator, sticking thermostat, rad fan not working, temperature sensor not working, low coolant level. that's just a starting point.
I think it just stops working and then you don't have Internet