AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Alfriston: What Now?
Has your engine turned over since the AdBlue got in? This single point settles nearly everything else from here. Not started yet? Then leave it like that, whether your car sits — Alfriston or Milton Street. Usually that is draining and thoroughly cleaning it right there around Alfriston — so leave your ignition and engine off then call 0333 366 0103. Already started? Stop when you safely can, then switch everything off. Step one remains unchanged, even if the job is bigger.
Below: the cases we meet, wherever around East Sussex. Pick yours.
On a Alfriston forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Just now, bottle still in your hand, you realise that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the pump. It could be the the nearest petrol station, or perhaps the BP, or another station in Alfriston.
What it means: this is the best location to find out. Nothing has pulled it through, and so the AdBlue stays just inside the tank.
Do this: keep out of the driver's seat, however much the queue needs clearing. Have the attendants to help rolling it into a bay, hold on to the bottle, then phone us right there. Emptying it there at the pump is possible when it can't be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Alfriston
The warning light had been on for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. It takes place on drives just off Sloe Lane as frequently as anywhere.
Meaning? Provided the car hasn't been driven since, it's close to the forecourt case. As it is unable to mix, AdBlue drops low in the tank and stays. A night standing alters none of that.
Your move: keys in the house, so nobody drives the car off at breakfast. Then, ring. Our technicians drain the car on your drive, whether that is around Alfriston or out in Winton. Late-night drains beside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Alfriston?
Topped up, drove away, and before long your engine was turning unevenly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up the dash. West Street, say, or the way towards Brighton and Hove — a run of under 15 miles.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked through the system. Through the fuel filter, along the pipework, and — the further the distance — on into the injection pump and every injector. Each restart, like every mile, carries it deeper.
Pull in safely — that is the first step — then switch it off. Service stations further along are too far: from the M23, under 25 miles out of Alfriston, use the next junction. It won't have cleared, and so there is no point starting it again to find out. Phone, and say how far the car went.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've had this car hardly a week. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel one, which you didn't know, since your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Across East Sussex, no one is immune.
In short: an extra stage on top of the situations above, which depend on whether it's run. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the car.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager first, us second, since settling it early saves time. If you are stranded in the car park outside Berwick (Sussex), or by Alfriston Market Cross, while you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Alfriston?
Honestly, the best answer may be that you think it did. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia about your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Alfriston School, or on a friend's drive in Berwick.
The point: your motor isn't harmed by some AdBlue spilled around the outside. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in your tank would be drawn in by firing up the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Don't start it. Ring us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
Every AdBlue drain around Alfriston shares these steps
Each case has the same start to the work. Wherever the vehicle is — Ye Olde Smugglers Inne's car park, a road by Alfriston War Memorial Hall, a driveway, a forecourt — our van arrives and we ask about the fluid, the amount, plus if the motor has turned over. Those replies settle the work, and you hear the price by phone, before anybody heads out.
Emptying your tank comes first, followed by a full flush — more vital after urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't go on their own, no matter how long you wait. Clean diesel is put in once your filter has been cleaned or changed, and your car is then checked. If the motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Our engineers start the car at the end. Our engineers confirm it runs correctly on new diesel before we go. When it is spotted early, the vehicle very rarely has lasting damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling, so look at yours while the van travels.
About Alfriston, for a moment
Alfriston is a village situated in the South East of England, in the county of East Sussex, with a riverside setting and an elevation of around 10 metres. Alfriston lies near the towns of Winton, Litlington, and Dukes Green, and is approximately 13 miles from Brighton and Hove. Alfriston has a population of around 762 people, predominantly living in detached houses. Alfriston is also within commuting distance of London, being around 49 miles away.
AdBlue drains about Alfriston and across East Sussex
Litlington and Dukes Green get the same teams as Alfriston, a village, along with further places over BN postcodes. Giving us a BN26 5 postcode finds you quickest of all.
Parked en route to The Apiary, or right in the heart of Alfriston, the vehicle stays where it is — there is no need to move it anywhere. Wherever it stands, that's where it is emptied. If you're somewhere hard to explain, near St Andrew's Church, Alfriston or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than assuming.
In one line: your scenario
Engine never started: phone, and leave it switched off. Run already? Pull over, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whatever case, in Alfriston and East Sussex, on 0333 366 0103.