Birdham: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
Has the engine run since the AdBlue was put in? That single question settles almost everything about what comes next. Not started yet? Then leave it like that, whether your car sits — Birdham or Bosham Hoe. Keep nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, and expect a proper flush plus a drain, carried out just where the car stands around Birdham. Where your engine has been run, pull in safely first, then turn the vehicle off. It is a larger job, yet stage one doesn't change.
Below: the situations we meet, wherever around West Sussex. Choose yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Birdham forecourt
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only spot it as you're standing at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. Whether Shell, Esso or anywhere else around Birdham, the case is identical.
Meaning? Spotting it on the forecourt is the best it gets. Nothing has pulled it through, so the AdBlue stays just in the tank.
Do this: keep out of the car, even if the pump wants clearing. A few things: a shove into a bay with the attendants helping, the receipt kept, and a ring to us from the forecourt. If it can't be moved, it can be emptied at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Birdham
Several days had passed with the warning light on. Picked up a container, poured it in outside the house, binned the empty — and only then looked at the cap again, after the fact. Houses just off The Saltings get hit as often as everywhere else.
Put simply: if your car has not moved since, it's nearly as good as spotting it at the forecourt. At the floor of the tank is where AdBlue waits, since it won't blend with diesel — and a night going by makes no difference.
Put the keys indoors tonight — or someone might take it off at breakfast — then phone us. Westlands or Birdham: wherever your drive is, that's where it is emptied. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
On the road around Birdham with AdBlue in a diesel
A mile or two beyond topping up, your engine began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, less power, lights on your dash. Longmeadow Gardens, perhaps, or the route towards Chichester — a run of under 5 miles.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue in. The injection pump and each injector get it too on a bigger run, after the filter and lines have it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Your move: pull up anywhere sensible, then switch your engine off. Exit at the next junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the Waterlooville Bypass, under 10 miles from Birdham. No trial restarts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue does. Roughly what distance had it gone? Tell us as you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
A week back, it was new to you. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets are side by side here — unlike your own car, which has none or keeps it in another spot. Any driver, anywhere around West Sussex, might do it.
The point: just as above, divided by whether it ran, but with one added stage. Many hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Do this: rental firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us second, since sorting it beforehand saves time. Keep it off while the answer arrives, even if you're parked at Fishbourne or near Birdham Village Hall.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank around Birdham?
At times, "I think so" is the most you can truthfully say. A slight ammonia-like smell hangs around your filler, the bottle feels too light, and the cap you took off is hard to recall. It might have been on a friend's drive in Almodington, or in a rush outside Birdham CE Primary School at the school run.
Meaning? Spills around the inlet don't touch the engine at all. Inside the diesel tank, however, AdBlue harms it. Starting the vehicle cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in that tank it would pull it in.
Do this: behave as though it did, and don't start the engine. Ring and give the details: we'd rather confirm a clean tank than drain one after your motor has run.
What every AdBlue drain around Birdham has in common
Each case has the same start to the job. We come to the car, whether it is on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside The Bell Inn or a side street near St James Church and community hall., and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and if the motor has run. The price comes over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and the replies shape the work.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it's essential, because crystals build up and some metals corrode, and neither washes out unaided. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Not started? In that case about half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
Firing it up comes at the end. Our check that it runs properly on new diesel comes before our technicians leave. The whole job is done where the car is, and if it is caught soon, lasting damage is very rare. Nothing is taken upfront, payment happens on the day, and you get what your insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Birdham
Birdham is a small coastal village in West Sussex, situated near the city of Chichester and close to the neighbouring communities of Westlands and Somerley. Birdham lies at a low elevation of around 6 metres above sea level, reflecting its proximity to the coast. Birdham has a population of approximately 889 residents, who mostly live in detached homes. Birdham is located about 58 miles from London, but its tranquil setting and rural character set it apart from the bustling city.
AdBlue drains across West Sussex, Birdham included
Birdham is a coastal village, and the same vans that cover it work the towns around it too, Somerley and Shipton Green among them, across the PO postcode area. Your location comes clearest from a postcode beginning PO20 7.
No towing is required, be it parked in the centre of Birdham or on a lay-by heading to Triangle Copse, and so leave it put. We drain the car where it sits. Ring and check instead of guessing when you are close to Itchenor Memorial Hall., near a border, or anywhere awkward to pin down.
Your scenario, summed up
Not run yet: keep the car off and ring. Run by now: pull over, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, within Birdham or anywhere across West Sussex.