AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Ardboe, and What to Do Next
One thing matters most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is if your motor has been started afterwards. Not run so far? Then leave the vehicle that way, wherever your car is — Ardboe or Ballyronan. Usually this is emptying and thoroughly rinsing it right there around Ardboe — and so leave the ignition and motor off then call 0333 366 0103. Pull over the minute it is safe then turn off, if it has been run. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Below: the cases our engineers meet, anywhere in County Tyrone. Choose the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Ardboe forecourt
Picture it: stood by the petrol pump, holding the nozzle, you realise the filler you opened was not the right one. It might be the the nearest petrol station, or the another forecourt nearby, or another forecourt around Ardboe.
Put simply: no better place exists to spot it. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Freeing the pump is no reason to run it — so do not get back in. Have the staff to lend a hand pushing it into a space, save the receipt, then phone us right there. Draining it there at the pump is possible when it can't be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
Ardboe, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
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 a second time at the cap. Drives near Heugh Road see it as much as any other street.
Meaning? Provided your car hasn't been driven since, it's close to the forecourt case. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Next: prevent any early drive by putting the keys indoors, then phone us. Your drive is where it gets emptied, whether in Ardboe or Moortown. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Ardboe?
A mile or two after topping up, the engine started playing up: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on the dash. Maybe it was on Welsh Place, maybe on the way out towards Armagh, under 25 miles away.
The point: the system has drawn AdBlue through already. The injection pump and each injector see it as well on a bigger run, once your filter and lines have it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop safely — that's the first job — then switch it off. Ardboe lies over 50 miles from the M77; on it, pull off at the first junction instead of pressing on for the services. It will not have cleared, and so there is no point starting it again to find out. Call us and say how far you went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've had this vehicle barely a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is missing or elsewhere. On this one, its cap is right by the diesel inlet — news to you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in County Tyrone.
The upshot: exactly as above, split by if it ran, only with one added stage. The owner frequently has to sign off the work, under many hire and fleet agreements.
Settling it before the van turn up is quicker, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. If you are stuck in the car park outside the nearest station, or by the centre, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, in Ardboe
Sometimes the honest answer is "I think so". What cap came off, you cannot recall; but the bottle weighs less than it ought to, and ammonia hangs by the filler. It might have been on a friend's driveway in Drummullan, or rushing outside the local primary school on the school run.
Meaning? Spills around the filler don't reach your engine at all. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in the tank would be drawn in by starting your car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't fire it up. Ring us and explain what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in each Ardboe AdBlue drain
The work opens the same way, whatever your case. Forecourt, driveway, the pub in the village's car park or a street by a street just off the centre — our van comes to your vehicle, and three answers follow: which liquid, what amount, and if it has run. Replies set the job; the price follows by phone whilst nobody has set off yet.
Then that tank is drained and your system purged thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it does not rinse out on its own. Finally are the fuel filter, flushed or renewed if necessary; fresh diesel; and a check of the vehicle. Most unstarted cars are a half-hour visit after the moment our engineers arrive.
Our technicians fire it up at the end. Our check that it runs properly on fresh diesel comes before we go. Lasting damage is very uncommon if it's spotted soon, and the whole job is done where your car is. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, nothing in advance. Worth remembering: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your policy as you wait is worthwhile.
About Ardboe itself
Ardboe is a small locality in County Tyrone, situated inland at an elevation of 17 metres, and is located near the villages of Moortown and Derrycrin. Ardboe is characterised by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its rural setting. Ardboe sits approximately 19 miles from Armagh, the nearest city, and is part of a wider network of small communities in the area.
AdBlue drains across County Tyrone, Ardboe included
Ardboe is a small village, and the same vans that cover it work the towns near it too, Derrycrin and Coagh among them, across the BT postcode area. Quickest of all: a BT80 0 postcode to show where you stand.
Centre of Ardboe or a lay-by near the green space at the edge of the village: wherever it sits, the car never needs to shift an inch for the drain. Draining is done right there. Ring and check instead of guessing when you are by the far end of the built-up part, on a boundary, or somewhere tricky to pin down.
Your scenario, summed up
Motor not started: ring, and leave it alone. Run already? Stop, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whichever case, in Ardboe and County Tyrone, on 0333 366 0103.