SAAB 9-5 Overheating Issue

I have a 2004 9-5 Linear Wagon. About two days ago I noticed that the temperature gauge was reading almost to the red line. The next morning it was doing the same thing. I drove it to the dealer (of course that morning I was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for 45 minutes) and left it there.

Three hours later, they tell me that there is nothing wrong with my car. They said, "Why don't you bring it in when it's overheating so that we can see it acting up!". These idiots grabbed my overheating car when it arrived and parked it outside for two hours to cool down.

The only explanation they can offer is that there was a computer software error. They said that there was no evidence of low water, overheating or any problems. They said that the gauges are not directly connected to the engine anymore, but are connected to the computer which is connected to many engine sensors. They claim to have driven it four miles, measured the engine temperature and found nothing wrong.

I've been driving the last few days and the car is behaving itself. The gauge is now staying in the middle. Any ideas?

Don't know about 9-5 Saabs, but this holds true for most cars:

- The eclectic fan either has two speeds or there are two fans - low and high (most likely two speeds with a resistor for the low speed)

- The low speed kicks in now and then during normal driving; high speeds is for serious overheating or when the AC is on.

- If something goes wrong with the low speed you may never notice it if the car is constantly moving (air cools it), but if you're stuck in traffic it will start to overheat. Once it gets almost to the red, the high speed will kick in and bring the temperature down.

- In the summer, with the AC on, the high speed is on all the time, thus hiding the porblem with the low speed fan.

- Best way to confirm that is to let the car idle for some time - 30 min. or more. See if the temp raises and see if the low speed kicks in.

Good luck, Stanjo