S40 2.0 T 99plate 140,000 miles

Wife couldn't get car started one night, I looked the next day i got it started but noticed the temp gauge went to max an the revs went straight to 5000 rpm. I took the car up the road and after a few hundred metres the temp gauge went to normal and the car seemed fine. Got to traffic lights the temp gauge went to max and the revs shot up again for a few seconds then back to normal. We then went shopping no problems with the car started as normal drove fine. Until we were coming home the car wouldn't start the engine would crank but it wouldn't fire then it stunk of petrol I guess I flooded the engine I left it for a while then tried again got it started but revving high again kept doing this while driving home
Sorry for the long winded story and any help will be much appreciated

 

Also I looked on the FAQ an saw about cleaning the IAC and MAF sensors but wen I click on the link I can't find it

 

The car didn't actually rev to 5000 rpm did it? If you dropped it in drive at that rpm it would yank your motor mounts out. (kidding) With the temp gauge going to max I'm thinking the tach was also acting up.

You could pull the gauge cluster and re-seat it. The 2 wiring connectors are seated when you push the gauge cluster into the dash. They can be adjusted left/right to line up with the holes in the gauge cluster prior to re-seating it.