What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Blackridge
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if the motor has run since it went in. Over in Greenrigg or right in Blackridge, an unstarted motor must stay that way. Leave the motor and the ignition off then call 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is in Blackridge. Where the motor has run, stop somewhere safe first, then switch it off. Step one remains unchanged, even if the job is bigger.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in West Lothian it happened.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Blackridge forecourt
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just notice it as you're stood at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. It could be the BP, or perhaps the another forecourt nearby, or another station around Blackridge.
Put simply: no better place to be to spot it. Only the tank has AdBlue; no component beyond it has drawn it in.
Your move: keep out of the car, however much the queue needs freeing. Three jobs: a shove into a space with the attendants assisting, the bottle kept, and a ring to us from where you stand. Draining it there at the pump is fine when it cannot be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home in Blackridge with AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dashboard had been warning you. 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. Houses just off Drummond Place get hit as often as everywhere else.
The upshot: zero miles since leaves it almost equal to spotting it at the pump. As it is unable to blend, AdBlue drops low in the tank and waits. A night parked changes none of that.
Next: prevent an early-morning drive by keeping the keys in the house, then ring us. In Westrigg or here around Blackridge, the draining is done at your driveway. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
Blackridge: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Anywhere along Louburn or else on the road towards Stirling — under 25 miles away.
What it means: the fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. It has been through the filter and the lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and your injectors. It travels further with each mile covered and every restart.
Do this: stop somewhere sensible, then switch your engine off. Service stations further along are too far: from the M8, under 3 miles out of Blackridge, take the next junction. Don't restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Call, saying what distance your vehicle was driven.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
Seven days ago, the car was new to you. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets sit next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across West Lothian.
Meaning? Whatever applies above applies here — run or unrun — plus one extra stage. The owner often has to sign off the work, under many hire and company contracts.
Settling it before we arrives is quicker, so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. Waiting for a reply at the car park outside the nearest station, or near Blackridge Parish Church? Leave your car off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Blackridge?
Now and then, "I think so" is all anyone can truthfully say. Too light, that bottle; a hint of ammonia round the filler; no clear recollection of which cap. Look familiar? It might have been at a friend's driveway in West Benhar, or in a rush outside the local primary school at the school run.
Put simply: a spill near your filler does your motor no harm. Once it's inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. If there is AdBlue in the tank, turning on your car would draw it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Take it that it was put in, and never turn the engine. Ring us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
What every AdBlue drain around Blackridge has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, the job starts the same way. Three things come once our technicians reach the car — at a filling station, a drive, a road beside Blackridge Mining Memorial Plaque or the car park at Coopers: the liquid, the amount, and whether the motor has been started. The price comes on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and those answers set the work.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to some metals in fuel systems, and so it won't rinse out on its own; that is why the flush, after the drain, matters much more here than with petrol. Then comes your filter — flushed, or swapped where needed — then clean diesel, and a test of the car. If your engine hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
The last step is starting the car. Our test that it runs smoothly on clean diesel comes before our engineers head off. Our technicians do the entire job where the car is, and lasting damage is very rare when it has been noticed quickly. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Blackridge, briefly
Blackridge is a village in West Lothian, situated on the riverside at an elevation of 184 metres. Blackridge has a population of around 1221 people and is characterised by predominantly detached housing. Blackridge is located near several other small communities, including Westrigg, Harthill, and Eastfield, and is within commuting distance of Stirling, which is 17 miles away.
AdBlue drains across West Lothian, Blackridge included
Throughout EH postcodes, the vans covering Blackridge — a village — work nearby places as well, Harthill and Eastfield included. Telling us your EH48 3 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Stopped en route to Beechbrae Wood, or bang in the centre of Blackridge, the vehicle remains put — there is no need to move it at all. The drain is done right there. Tricky to pin down? Close to Craiginn Community Centre or a border? Asking is better than guessing, so ring.
In one line: your situation
Not run yet: keep it off and ring. Whichever case fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, across West Lothian and in Blackridge — after you stop, turn off then phone, if it has run.