Odd temp gauge problem 94 318ti
 

Guys i need some help.

This is a weird one, most of the time i need to tap the temp gauge in the cluster to get it to work (normally sits like the car is off) and some occasions it will pop up all on its own but today it stayed in the blue, doesnt normally do that.
It did go to halfway/normal when i carried on my journey after 20min stop.Stopped the car again for 20mins and it stayed in the blue all the way home.

One thing which i find odd is when i pulled the battery and put it back on the gauge worked, went to the middle/normal, pulled the gauge cluster temp,fuel fuse 46 and reinserted and it went to blue.Pulled reattached the battery it went back to normal/middle.

btw its been very hot today so my car hasnt had a chance to cool down.

Does it usually always go to the 12 o'clock (normal) position after you tap it? If so, it sounds like the gauge itself may be bad or you have a loose plug connection on the back of your cluster. If not, I'd start with the connection at the temperature sending unit in the side of the cylinder head or the sending unit itself. Like any thermo switch, it can, and occasionally does, go bad over time. Good luck!

Tapping the cluster brings the needle from the off (position it sits with ignition off) position and the needle moves normal as the car warms up, always stops around the middle.
Also, I have been behind the gauge cluster and nothing is a miss and wiggling doesnt make any difference.
To be honest i wasnt really looking at the temp sensor (looks pita to get to anyway) as tapping the gauge cluster normally gets temp gauge working so wouldnt it be a cluster problem?
Still cant workout why removing the battery then reattaching gets the gauge working as it should but removing the cluster fuse and reinserting makes gauge stick in the blue.