Temperature gauge at max after short journey

[a.mulholland]

My husband is having a problem with his car. Its an old Nissan Micra, and we have a feeling the radiator may have gone, but trying to be positive thought we'd see if it could possibly be anything else. The temperature gauge seems to hit max just after a short journery, the water has been filled up and there is no signs of it losing water anywhere. Anyone got any ideas? Thermostat?

Many thanks.

[dannywells]

if your gauge has hit the red then its probably too late, its likely to have damaged the head gasket

if its an old Micra your cheapest option is to buy another car

[mr rusty]

This could be a number of things, are there any other symptoms other than the gauge showing max? i.e. what sort of output does the heater have when the gauge is on max, how hot do the hoses and the radiator matrix feel? Is driveability affected in any way?

You say the car isn't losing water, it could just be nothing more than a faulty water temp sensor. If the car seems normal in every other way I'd start by swapping that for a new one, they don't cost much.

[Panic Button]

Thermostat stuck shut, so water not sent to radiator?