i'm gonna reply to myself.... uhh... i guess when it's in the red, it means it's overheating. i was delivering in very hot weather (about 110°+ heat index) the day after i posted (go figure) and i kept smelling coolant, and i opened my hood before taking a delivery, and it was boiling over from every crevice it could find. hasn't happened since, i think it was just the real hot day.