What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Alresford
Has your motor turned over since the AdBlue got in? This one point settles almost everything about what comes next. Out in Keelars Tye or here in Alresford, an unrun motor should remain that way. Leave your engine and your ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is in Alresford. Pull over the moment it is safe and switch off, if it has already run. It is a larger job, though step one does not change.
Wherever in Essex it happened, one of the situations below fits yours.
At the pump in Alresford: AdBlue in a diesel
Only now, bottle still in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the pump. Perhaps you're at the Esso, maybe at the Texaco, possibly somewhere else in Alresford.
The upshot: of every spot to notice, this is the best. The AdBlue is in your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Clearing the pump is no excuse to start it — so do not get back in. Three jobs: a shove into a space with the attendants assisting, the receipt saved, and a ring to us from the forecourt. Can't move the car beside the petrol pump? Explosion-proof kit keeps a live forecourt safe, and so it can be drained where it is.
Alresford, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dashboard had been warning you. Only by the recycling, the empty container in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd used on the driveway. It happens on drives just off Church Road as often as anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. At the floor of the tank sits exactly where AdBlue waits, because it will not mix with diesel — and a night passing changes no difference.
Next: prevent any early move by putting your keys in the house, then phone us. In Elmstead Heath or here in Alresford, the drain happens on your driveway. The pumping kit works quietly enough not to disturb the street at night.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Alresford?
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard arrived a mile or two beyond the top-up. Wivenhoe Road, perhaps, or the way towards Colchester — a run of under 5 miles.
The upshot: your system has drawn AdBlue in by now. The injection pump and every injector see it as well on a longer trip, after your filter and lines have had it. More driving, more restarts: deeper it goes.
Do this: pull up somewhere safe, then turn the engine off. On the M11, under 50 miles from Alresford, that means the next exit, not the services further on. Don't restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Roughly what distance did it gone? Say so as you phone.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have only driven this car a week. The AdBlue filler sits right next to the diesel filler, which you didn't know, since your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Throughout Essex, nobody is immune.
The point: exactly as above, split by whether it ran, but with one added stage. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before our technicians arrive than after. Leave the car off while the answer comes, even if you are waiting outside the nearest station or close to Alresford Village Hall.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Alresford
Now and then, "I think so" is the most anyone can truthfully say. What cap came off, you cannot say; but the bottle weighs lighter than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by your filler. Maybe at a friend's driveway in Wivenhoe, or rushing by Alresford Primary School on the school run.
Meaning? Drips outside the inlet never touch your motor at all. In your diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue damages it. If there is AdBlue in your tank, firing up the vehicle would pull it in, and it would not tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't crank it. Phone with the details: we would sooner find a tank free of AdBlue than drain one after the motor has been run.
What every AdBlue drain in Alresford has in common
Every case gets the same start to the work. Filling station, drive, The Pointer's car park or a road by The Pavilion — the van comes to your car, and three answers follow: what liquid, what quantity, and whether it ran. Answers set the work; the quote follows on the call whilst no one has left yet.
Then that tank is drained and your system flushed thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Never started? In that case about half an hour on site is most jobs.
Our engineers fire it up at the end. With new diesel in, it runs while our technicians check it's running smoothly, and then we head off. If it is caught soon, the vehicle very seldom has permanent damage, and the entire job happens where it is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. It is worth knowing: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy as we travel is worthwhile.
About Alresford, for a moment
Alresford is a village in Essex, situated near the coast and approximately 4.9 miles from Colchester. Alresford sits at an elevation of 29 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Alresford is located near other small settlements, including Elmstead Heath and Frating, and is within commuting distance of London, at around 53.8 miles away.
AdBlue drains across Essex, Alresford included
Frating and Black Horse Corner get the same teams as Alresford, a coastal village, plus other places throughout CO postcodes. A postcode starting CO7 8 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
No towing is required, be it stopped centrally in Alresford or in a layby heading to Crestland Wood, and so keep it put. Our van empties it where it stands. If you're somewhere hard to describe, close to Saint Andrew's Church or close to a border, ring and ask rather than assuming.
Your scenario, in one line
Still unrun? Keep it that way then phone. Already run: stop, switch off then call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Alresford and anywhere in Essex on 0333 366 0103.