Dodge Repair: 2000 Dodge Stratus, dodge stratus, coolant

Question
QUESTION: My stratus has been overheating lately.  i thought it needed coolant so i added some and i thought it was fine.  i drove it for about ten minutes and then the temperature light came on.  any thoughts???

then AFTER i had this problem it rained really badly where i live and now my gauges won't work and there are the words no bus where my mileage used to be. when turn the key forward without turning on the car all the gauges seem fine and the mileage shows up then when i start the car the gauges die on me.  please help!!!



ANSWER: sounds like 2 different issues  the no bus  U will need some one to look at  the over heating could be a few different things did the fans come on?I live in the Atlanta area I would be glad to look at it for u.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: the fans are working properly.  i had it checked by a mechanic before when i had this problem and he said that i needed coolant because it was empty.  so he filled it and hooked it up to a machine and he said that everything was in working order.  i'm thinking it could either be the water pump or the thermostat.  

about the no bus gauges is that really bad?  is it fixable?

Answer
anything is fixable if u have the right person doing it. The no bus could be any things  like one of many computers on your car.  A stuck thermostat closed would cause the temp to be real high real fast. Open it would take forever for it to warm up. Water pump would do about the same thing with the closed thermostat. If u open up the coolant jug u can see it move around then the pump is ok this far. Grab one end of the radiator where the hose going in and feel the other see if one is alot cooler then the other.