Avoiding AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Barton: Why It Happens
AdBlue already in the diesel tank? In that case set this page aside for now, keep your ignition and motor off, then call 0333 366 0103. In Barton, catching it before your engine runs normally means draining and a thorough flush on the spot. The rest of this page covers why it occurs and how to make sure it does not — handy if you're reading ahead of time.
Two fillers, two tanks: AdBlue in a diesel vehicle
Not one fluid but two: that is what many modern diesels near Barton and Coton carry, with diesel for your motor. AdBlue's own tank keeps it, and from there it is sent to your exhaust, where a spray treats the gas.
There's a filler on every tank. Plenty of motors share a single flap for both, whereas some put the AdBlue filler to your boot or under the bonnet. Diesel goes in at each filling station visit, week in, week out. Far less frequently, the AdBlue side gets topped up — normally from a bottle, by a person thinking about where it goes. It's in that gap that the slip happens.
How AdBlue in the diesel tank takes place in Barton
Three things tend to line up, and carelessness is rarely one of them.
First, the warning. Low AdBlue triggers a message from the vehicle, and letting it run dry means limp mode — hence a rushed top-up, maybe before work off New Road, perhaps outside The Hoops on the way home that evening.
Then, your hand goes for the cap it would have used on the old vehicle — since a hire car, a new car or a company car places the fillers where your last one did not.
No part halts the tip once it has started, because a bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as readily as an AdBlue one. The bottle fits. It's seconds, be it out in Roman Hill or bang in the heart of Barton.
Telling the AdBlue filler from the diesel filler
Before you tip anything, whether on a drive in Haslingfield or a forecourt around Barton, check these. They take a couple of seconds.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is regularly blue, or marked "AdBlue". The diesel cap normally isn't. Read it rather than going by position.
- On many motors, the size gives it away: AdBlue gets the smaller filler neck.
- The flap. Look inside your fuel flap for a label. Plenty of motors say there which fuel goes where.
- Cannot find it next to your diesel filler? In that case look beneath the bonnet or inside your boot — the handbook will say which.
- Picking up a hire or company car, perhaps at the car park at Cambridge? Ask whoever drove it last before leaving, not when the light goes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in your diesel tank
Wherever across Cambridgeshire the light comes on, here is a routine for the day.
- Park then switch off. Not on a slope, not with your engine running, and not in a rush on the side of School Lane.
- Silly as it sounds, saying "AdBlue" aloud while you unscrew the cap works — once you have found the filler and read the cap.
- The diesel cap stays on. When the two sit under a flap, make sure it is closed before the bottle comes up.
- Tip slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it is full or when the bottle is empty.
- Shut the cap, then look once more — confirm your diesel filler remained shut the whole time. After that, start your car.
Stop there if you find, at stage two or three, that you have already poured into your diesel side. Stage five is off limits.
Barton: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Then the order of things is short. Don't start your motor. On plenty of diesels the ignition alone runs the fuel pump, and so do not switch the vehicle on. Topping up with diesel won't weaken it: instead, AdBlue drops to the base of the tank, just where the fuel is drawn from.
The staff at Pace, Shell or any forecourt will usually lend a hand to push the car clear if asked. On your own drive in Barton? Then the vehicle remains where it is.
When the engine has run already, pull over safely then turn the vehicle off. Leave the M11 — under a mile out of Barton — at the first junction. Mileage matters — a quick hop across Barton is a smaller job than heading under 5 miles towards Cambridge — so tell us roughly how far it went.
Barton: what happens when our engineers turn up
We come to your car wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Barton CofE VA Primary School, close to Barton Baptist Church or on your own driveway. Those replies decide this work and the quote, and so our technicians ask what went in, roughly how much, and whether it has run. The quote is given on the call, ahead of any van leaving.
The fuel system is then rinsed thoroughly, after that tank is drained. More than with petrol, it counts with AdBlue: crystals build up, some metals are attacked, and nothing washes out unaided, however long it is left. Filter cleaned or, if needed, swapped; fresh diesel in; and then a test of the car. Before we go, our technicians start it and check that it's running smoothly.
Most jobs are finished in about half an hour once we get there, as long as your engine hasn't run — and the pumps our technicians use are fine on a busy forecourt yet quiet at night outside a house. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Barton itself
Barton is a small village in Cambridgeshire, situated approximately 3 miles west of Cambridge, and is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock. Barton sits in a low-lying area of the county, with an elevation of around 27 metres, and is surrounded by nearby places such as Roman Hill and Grantchester. Barton is a quiet residential community, with a population of around 539 people, and is located near the larger village of Comberton. Barton is also within commuting distance of London, being around 47 miles from the capital.
AdBlue drains across Cambridgeshire, Barton included
Barton is a rural village, and our teams that cover it also work the towns near it, Grantchester and Comberton among them, across the CB postcode area. A postcode starting CB23 7 gets our van to you fastest.
There's no need to move your car. We drain it where it is — a side street near Barton Village Hall, a lay-by on the way to Church Close, a driveway. Assuming doesn't help behind St Peter (Barton Parish Church), on a boundary, or anywhere hard to describe; ring and check.
In short, for Barton drivers
First, the cap; after that, the tip. Still AdBlue in your diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel can empty it where it stands, wherever around Cambridgeshire: switch the car off then ring 0333 366 0103.