How do I know when the iron is up to temperature and ready to use?

Flick a few drops of water on the hot iron plate and see if it sizzles. Otherwise, turn on the steam function button, and if the iron has water in it, when you tile the iron to iron, it wil.....STEAM.

Because its a temperature controlled iron, I would say that it only gets to the temperature to create steam and no hotter.

No, inside only goes the thermostat, that is electrical device for adjustmente the heating elements , see the pictorial attached.

God bless you

The thermostat in the iron controls the temperature of the iron. The red light indicates when the power applied to heat the iron which is set by the temperature dial on the iron. When it reaches the correct temperature the thermostat turn off the power and that is when the red light switches off.

Hello :

1: Make sure there's enough water in the tank if the iron won't steam. Fill the tank up .
2:Check that the iron is set to a steam setting. Some of the settings are dry and won't create steam.
3:Set the temperature dial to the shaded setting which represents steam. You'll see a little dark cloud-type icon with raindrops as opposed to a white cloud with a stripe through it. The dark cloud represents moisture (steam), and the white cloud with the stripe through it represents no steam.
4:Allow the iron to heat up for a while and to emit steam for a couple of minutes while pressing the extra-long burst button a few times. That should get rid of any impurities which can cause blockages. Try this if the iron hasn't been used for a while and steaming is intermittent.
5:Iron horizontally. Steam is only generated when the iron is horizontal.
6:Use the maximum steam setting when the iron is set to its maximum temperature setting.
7:Let the iron get to a high temperature before expecting steam. If the soleplate isn't hot enough, the water won't turn to steam and will in fact drip, spit or leak from the soleplate. Some Rowenta irons have an anti-drip system, which will turn off the steam when ironing at a low temperatures. Turn the temperature up, if needed.

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO RATE !

It shows that the iron is heating up. When the light is steady, the iron is at the set temperature and ready for ironing.

Switch light goes on when pressed but goes off if... OR iron does not heat at all even pressing the button to turn it on continually.
Don't understand which one question you are asking
But if there is no heat at all after switching it on, it needs to go to iron heaven but be sure to cut the plug of the end, Saftey reasons at the dump. BUT if lights are coming on the iron is working. the large dial on the water filler is temperature control. Turn this around to cotton or linen.
The light will come on and off while in use, it allows you to know that the iron has cooled and is going back to your select temperature( on the large dial)

Make sure that you use water in the iron as it will aid your ironing and make it quicker. Make sure that the iron temperature dial on the water filler is at the correct temperature for the item that you are ironing.
Hope this helps

I think I have the solution now! 
 
First of all, remove the temperature knob. Than remove the temperature indicator (it's like a little disc). Theres a hidden screw under the temperature indicator! Remove that screw and continue with your fixes.

I hope it could help you.
Jardel

p.s. - Sorry for my noob english...

I need to know about the temperatures of the iron (what's hot & what's the cooler setting-rayon or linen).

Try setting the thermostat to a little less than maximum