97 DX Corolla Over heated

[micmonty]

*Can a mod move this to the corolla sub-forum*

For the first time yesterday afternoon my girlfriend turned on the AC on the 97 Corolla that has 202,000 miles.

When she got out of work she started to drive home on the highway and the temp gauge was on HOT!!

This has happened to her before and she knows to turn off any AC and turn on the heat full blast which she did.

She got off the road and I went to pick her up. We waitied for about an hour and drove the car back to my house which was only about 3 miles away.

When i drove it the temp was good but the check engine light was on.

She just had an oil change last week where they checked all her fluids and said they were fine.

This morning i'm going to check the fluids myself.

My gut is that something electrical malfunctioned when she turned on the AC but i'm no expert. has anyone else had this problem and please list the possible problems

thanks

[toyomoho]

Electrical malfunction as in this affected the temp gauge or electrical radiator cooling fans (if this car has them)? Was the engine really overheating? If the car has electrical fans, check to see they come on with the A/C compressor operation.