Hey guys Im working on a 03 3500 5.2L van. My buddy's roller lifters collapsed and beat the cam lobes off so I took the engine apart and replaced the cam,lifters,push rods,heads,timing chain and gears,and new oil pump. Put the engine back together (and prayed for no fluid leaks) and cranked it up. It runs fine (except I have to go get the injectors synched) but the temp gauge pegged out on the hot side so I checked fluid levels and all were fine. I checked the temp sensor and it had been damaged in reassembly so I replaced the sensor and still have the same problem. I let the engine cool and turned the ignition sw on and the gauge still went hot. I unplugged the sensor and it is still going hot. I am pretty sure that this means I have a short to ground somewhere but I only have a haynes manual and it is useless for this purpose, so can anyone direct me in the direction I need to go? I have a black wire with blue stripe that is reading direct to ground and tan w/black stripe that is not grounded.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

Assuming the engine is not really overheating...check to make sure you reconnected the engine block to frame ground strap. Without the strap the current redirects through the sensor wires and cause issues like you've described.

 

thanks for the reply and I checked all the grounds and they are all hooked up so any more ideas on where to look