AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Amesbury: How It Occurs and How to Stop It
AdBlue already in the diesel tank? In that case set this page aside a moment, keep the ignition and engine off, and phone 0333 366 0103. Normally, if your motor hasn't run, it is emptied and thoroughly purged where your car sits around Amesbury. If you are reading before it has happened, the rest of this page is about why it takes place and how to make sure it doesn't.
AdBlue in a diesel motor, and its separate tank
Plenty of newer diesels around Strangways, like those in Amesbury, run on two fluids; the engine takes only the diesel. AdBlue goes to your exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to clean it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Each tank has its own filler. On a lot of motors the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in your boot or under the bonnet. The diesel side is fuelled at the pump all the time. The AdBlue side is filled far less regularly, usually from a bottle, and normally by someone who has to stop and think where it goes. The slip lives in that gap.
How does AdBlue in the diesel tank take place around Amesbury?
Three things tend to come together, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
The warning comes first. As AdBlue runs low the car tells you, and if it runs out completely, the car drops into limp mode. So the top-up is done in a hurry: on a drive off Flower Lane before work, or in the car park outside The Bell on the way home.
Unfamiliar cars come second, too. Hire cars, new motors and company vehicles place their fillers differently, and habit reaches for the cap used on the old one.
Nothing stops the pour once it has started, because a bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as readily as an AdBlue one. The bottle fits. The same few seconds decide it, in the middle of Amesbury or out in West Amesbury.
Telling the AdBlue filler from your diesel filler
A few seconds is all these take — so check them before you pour anything, on a drive in Wilsford or a forecourt around Amesbury.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is frequently blue, or marked "AdBlue". The diesel cap normally isn't. Read it instead of going by position.
- Check the size: the smaller neck is, on plenty of cars, the AdBlue one.
- The flap. Look inside your fuel flap for a label. Many vehicles say there which fuel goes where.
- Can't find it beside your diesel inlet? In that case look below the bonnet or inside your boot — the owner's manual will say which.
- The person who drove it last. On a hire or company car picked up from somewhere like the car park at Grateley, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in your diesel tank
Anywhere across Wiltshire the light comes on, this is a routine for the day.
- Park and switch off. Not on a slope, not with the motor running, and not in a rush on the side of Salisbury Street.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, after finding the AdBlue filler and reading it. Silly, perhaps, but it works.
- The diesel cap stays on. When both share a flap, make sure it is closed before lifting the bottle.
- Finish once your tank is topped up or the bottle is empty; until then, pour slowly using its own spout.
- Shut the cap, and look once more — confirm your diesel filler remained closed the whole time. After that, start the car.
Stop there if you find, at stage two or three, that you've already poured into your diesel side. Leave out step five altogether.
Amesbury: already put AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Do not start the engine: that is where the short order of things begins. Don't switch your ignition on; on plenty of diesels that alone runs the fuel pump. AdBlue does not mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of the tank, where the fuel is sucked from — so don't top up with diesel to thin it.
Ask the attendants to help push your car clear of the petrol pump if you're at a forecourt — the the nearest petrol station, the Shell or anywhere else. Leave it where it is if you're on your own driveway in Amesbury.
Already started? Stop once it's sensible, then turn off. Amesbury sits under 25 miles from the M27; on it, use the next exit. A short hop across Amesbury is a smaller job than a run towards Salisbury, under 10 miles away, so tell us about how far it went.
Our arrival around Amesbury, and what takes place next
Wherever your car came to rest, whether by Amesbury Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, near Amesbury Aviation Heritage Centre or on your own drive, the van comes to it. What liquid was put in, the amount, and whether it ran: our engineers ask since the replies decide both work and price. No one sets off before you've had our price over the phone.
Draining the tank comes next, followed by a full flush of the system. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not wash out on its own — which is why that matters more here than with petrol. Testing is last: before that, fresh diesel goes in, and the fuel filter is cleaned or replaced as needed. Before we go, our technicians fire it up and make sure that it's running properly.
Unstarted cars mostly need a half-hour visit after the moment we arrive. The equipment is safe on a busy filling station, and quiet enough for a driveway after dark. Nothing upfront; you settle up that day. At the end, the VAT invoice and the report from the engineer are handed to you for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About Amesbury
Amesbury is a riverside town situated in Wiltshire, England, with a rich history dating back to ancient times. Amesbury is notable for its proximity to the famous Stonehenge monument, which is located within the town's parish boundaries. The town's surroundings also feature smaller settlements and a military airfield, adding to its diverse landscape. Amesbury's long history has earned it a significant place in British heritage.
Amesbury and Wiltshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Ratfyn and Normanton are among the towns near Amesbury, a riverside town, that the same teams cover, over SP postcodes. Quote a postcode that starts SP4 7, and our van arrives quickest.
There's no need to shift the vehicle. We drain it where it is — a side street near Celtic Cross, a lay-by on the way to Bonnymead Park, a drive. Assuming won't help at the back of Bodyworks Fitness Studio, on a boundary, or anywhere hard to pin down; phone and ask.
The short version for Amesbury motorists
Read the cap before you pour. Petrol in Diesel empties it on the spot, anywhere across Wiltshire, if AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank regardless — so leave it off and phone 0333 366 0103.