OK, I've noticed sometimes that my temp gauge goes all all the way up past hot when I turn the car off. also the lights in the cluster stay on even after the key is out. I noticed that it does it when the doors are open, and if you close them the gauge goes down and the lights go off. It seems like a short but I don't know where to start.

 

Is this the stock gauge or aftermarket ? Check the grounds to start off with.

 

check the main battery to chassis ground. when mine wasnt connected pressing the brakes would make the gauge cluster lights come on when the key wasnt even in the ign.

 

it's the stock 89 dx cluster. i was thinking it could be a ground. where should i start? i looked over the engine to body, battery to body, and the thermostat grounds. they all looked fine.

 

Also, the engine to body ground isn't in the factory location. I moved it one bolt up because I broke the original bolt in the hole and haven't gotten it out yet. could that cause the problem? I never had these problems before that. But then I didn't have them after it until recently, i broke the bolt a while ago(like 2-3 months).

 

make sure its got a good contact. on my battery cable the little bracket that bolts to the body broke so i just ran a wire directly from the negative terminal to above the headlight. works fine.

 

could be your thermostat/thermostat ground.