I recently acquired a '97 cabriolet and first the temp gauge was not moving on every start, but often would register about 1/3 after the second start in the day. Yesterday it was warm enough for the radiator cooling fans to come on and when I shut the car off the fans continue to run, and this happened during a start when the temp gauge was not registering a temp. My suspicion is that the sensor is not sending a signal to the fans to let them know the engine is now cool and they continue to run. I have disconnected the battery cable to preserve juice, but when I reconnect it the fans run again. Obviously there is no reset.

Before the fans continued to run, I researched the temp gauge issue and came across another cooling fan problem just like the one I have now, but didn't pay that much attention to it, and now I cant find that discussion again.

It seems the two are related, and I hope the replacement of the thermostat will fix the problem. Any thoughts?

Is there more than one thermostat to consider?