Why It Happens and How to Avoid It: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Bell Green
Leave the engine and ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103 first — reading can wait if AdBlue is already in your diesel tank. Caught before your motor runs, it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Bell Green. Nothing happened yet? Further down, the page explains the reasons it occurs and the ways to avoid it for good.
AdBlue in a diesel car, and its separate tank
Diesel feeds the engine — but plenty of newer diesels seen around Bell Green and Sydenham hold another fluid as well. Your exhaust, not the motor, is where AdBlue ends up: dosed into the gas to fresh it, from a separate tank.
Different tanks, separate fillers. Under one flap, side by side: that's the arrangement on a lot of vehicles. On others, AdBlue's filler is under the bonnet or in your boot instead. At the pump, your diesel side gets filled all the time. A driver who has to stop and think where it goes usually fills the AdBlue side, from a bottle, and much less frequently. The error lives in that gap.
How does AdBlue in your diesel tank take place around Bell Green?
Carelessness seldom causes it. What does is three things coming up together.
To start with, the warning. Low AdBlue triggers a warning from your car, and running out means limp mode — so a hurried top-up, perhaps before work off Southend Lane, perhaps at Railway Tavern on the way home that evening.
Next, the hand goes for the cap it knew on the old car — because a rental car, a new vehicle or a company car places the fillers where your last one didn't.
Lastly, the spout fits: diesel filler or AdBlue one, it slides in just as readily, and after the tip starts, nothing stops it. Whether it happens in Bellingham or the middle of Bell Green, it is the same few seconds.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Whether a Bell Green forecourt or a driveway out in Southend, take a few seconds over these before anything is poured in.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is often blue, or marked "AdBlue". Your diesel cap normally isn't. Read it instead of going by where it sits.
- The size. On plenty of vehicles the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two.
- Lift the filler flap and check for a label — many vehicles mark what goes in each inlet right there.
- Can't find it beside the diesel inlet? In that case look beneath the bonnet or in the boot — the owner's manual will say which.
- The person who drove it last. On a hire or company car collected from somewhere like the car park outside Lower Sydenham, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
How to top up without AdBlue in your diesel tank
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever across Greater London that is.
- Not in a rush on the side of Kangley Bridge Road, not on a slope, not with your engine running: park and switch off properly.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds silly and it works.
- Leave the diesel cap on. If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle.
- Gently does it, through the bottle's own spout, till it's full or the bottle is empty.
- Before starting the vehicle, close the cap and look again that the diesel cap was never came off.
Discover during the second or third step that AdBlue went in the wrong filler? That's where you stop. Never go on to stage five.
Bell Green: already put AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Short order, then. Top of it: your engine stays unstarted. The fuel pump runs on plenty of diesels as soon as your ignition goes on — so keep it off. Do not top up with diesel to thin it: AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where your fuel is sucked from.
The staff at Sainsbury's, Texaco or another forecourt will normally help pushing the car clear when asked. Your own drive in Bell Green is where it should stay.
Already started? Stop when it is sensible, then turn off. The next junction is the place to come off if you're on the M25, under 10 miles from Bell Green. About how far did it go? Hopping across Bell Green is smaller work than a run of under 10 miles towards Westminster, and so say.
Our arrival around Bell Green, and what takes place next
Our technicians come to the vehicle wherever it has stopped, whether that is outside Haseltine Primary School, close to C.C.C. Elmorijah Parish or on your own driveway. Those replies determine the work and the price, so our technicians ask what was put in, about how much, and whether it's run. On the call itself, you are told our price — ahead of dispatch.
Draining your tank comes next, followed by a full flush of the fuel system. More than with petrol, it matters with AdBlue: crystals form, some metals corrode, and nothing clears out on its own, no matter how long it is left. After the filter has been cleaned — or renewed, where required — fresh diesel is added, and finally your car is tested. Your engine is fired up next and checked to be sure it runs correctly, all before we head off.
Unrun vehicles usually mean a half-hour job after arrival. The kit is fine on a busy filling station, and hushed enough for a driveway after dark. Paying happens on the day, not upfront, and you receive the paperwork an insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Bell Green itself
Bell Green is a suburban area in the London Borough of Lewisham, situated near the River Beck, with a mix of residential and commercial properties. Bell Green has a relatively low elevation of 22 metres and is located close to several nearby places, including Bellingham and New Beckenham. Bell Green is characterized by its predominant housing type, which is flats, and is home to a population of approximately 9928 residents. Bell Green is also conveniently located near Westminster, which is about 6.4 miles away.
AdBlue drains around Bell Green and across Greater London
Bell Green is a residential suburb, and our teams that cover it also work the towns around it, New Beckenham and Lower Sydenham among them, across the SE postcode area. The van gets to you fastest with a postcode starting SE26 5.
The car remains put. Our engineers drain it where it is — a side street near The Bridge Leisure Centre, a lay-by on the way to Southend Park, a drive. Ring and ask instead of guessing if you're near a boundary, or somewhere hard to explain, like the back of Sydenham Library.
For Bell Green drivers, the short version
Before you tip, read the cap. Even so AdBlue in your diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel will drain it where it is, anywhere around Greater London: keep the car off and call 0333 366 0103.