AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Braithwell, and What to Do Next
Everything hinges on a single detail: if your engine has been run since the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. Out in Little Hay Nooking or here around Braithwell, an unstarted engine must stay unrun. Leave your engine and your ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Braithwell. Pull over the moment you safely can then turn off, if it has already run. The job is bigger, yet the first step is the same.
Match what happened to one of the ones below, wherever across South Yorkshire you are.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Braithwell forecourt
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just notice it as you are standing at the pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. It might be the the nearest petrol station, or the Shell, or a different forecourt in Braithwell.
Meaning? Spotting it on the forecourt is the best it gets. Still in the tank, and nothing drawn onwards: that is where the AdBlue is.
Next: resist the urge to fire it up only to free up the pump. Three jobs: a shove into a bay with the attendants assisting, the bottle saved, and a call to us from the forecourt. Can't move it by the petrol pump? Explosion-proof kit keeps a live forecourt safe, so it can be drained where it is.
Braithwell, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dashboard had been nagging you. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd opened at the driveway. Just off High Street is no different from any other place.
Meaning? As long as your vehicle has not moved since, it is second to the pump case. Being unable to blend, AdBlue settles low in the tank and stays. A night parked alters none of that.
Put your keys in the house overnight — otherwise someone might take it away first thing — and call us. Our engineers drain the car on your drive, whether that is around Braithwell or out in Micklebring. Our pumping kit works quietly enough not to disturb the street at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Braithwell?
Lumpy running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard started a short way beyond the fill. It might have been driving to Doncaster, under 10 miles away, or simply along Doncaster Road.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked into the fuel system. It's been through the fuel filter and the lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: pick a sensible place, stop, and switch your engine off. Braithwell sits under a mile from the M18; there, come off at the next junction instead of pressing on for the services. It won't have cleared, so there is no point restarting to find out. Phone, and say what distance the car went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've just had this car a week. Unknown to you, the two inlets are side by side here — unlike your own car, which has none or keeps it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across South Yorkshire.
In short: one extra stage on top of the situations above, which turn on whether it has run. Many hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager to begin with, us next, since sorting it early saves time. Stranded near St James or at Conisbrough until someone answers, the vehicle remains switched off the whole time.
Braithwell: unsure whether it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
"I think so" is often the most honest answer there is. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia about your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. The gates of Maltby Manor Academy in a rush, say, or someone's driveway out in Maltby.
The point: the motor is not harmed by some AdBlue splashed on the filler. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in your tank, starting your car will pull it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Next: assume it went in, and leave your engine off. Phone and give the details: we would rather confirm a clean tank than empty one after your engine has run.
Each AdBlue drain in Braithwell shares these steps
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Anywhere the vehicle stands — The Butcher's Arms's car park, a street by The Ruddle Centre, a drive, a forecourt — our van gets there and asks about the liquid, the quantity, and if your engine has turned over. The price is given over the phone, before a van leaves, and the replies shape the job.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to certain metals used in fuel systems, so it does not rinse out unaided; that is why the flush, after the drain, matters much more here than with petrol. Clean diesel goes in once the fuel filter is cleaned or replaced, and your car is finally tested. Where your engine has not been started, expect about half an hour once we arrive, for most jobs.
Finally, our technicians fire it up. Our test that it runs correctly on clean diesel comes before our technicians head off. Permanent damage is very unusual when it is caught early, and the entire job is done where the car is. Paying is on the day, never in advance. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. Many insurance policies cover misfuelling, and so check yours while the van travels.
About Braithwell, for a moment
Braithwell is a small village in South Yorkshire, situated approximately 6 miles from Doncaster and 141 miles from London. Braithwell sits at an elevation of around 110 metres, surrounded by nearby places such as Micklebring, Clifton, and Stainton. Braithwell has a population of around 848 people and is characterised by predominantly detached housing. Braithwell remains a quiet, rural community with a strong sense of local identity.
Braithwell and South Yorkshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Braithwell is a rural village, and the same vans that cover it work the places near it too, Clifton and Stainton among them, across the S postcode area. The whereabouts is clearest from a postcode that starts S66 7.
Stopped en route to Amory's Holt, or right in the heart of Braithwell, the vehicle remains where it is — there is no need to move it at all. Our van empties it in place. Awkward to explain? By The Ruddle Mill or a border? Asking is better than assuming, and so phone.
Your situation, in one line
Unstarted? Leave the vehicle that way then ring. Whichever case applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, throughout South Yorkshire and within Braithwell — once you stop, turn off and phone, if it has run.