Why It Occurs and How to Prevent It: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Branston
Stop reading a minute when the diesel tank already holds AdBlue in it: ignition off, engine off, then phone 0333 366 0103. In Branston, catching it before the motor runs normally leaves draining and a thorough flush on the spot. Not happened yet? Below, the page explains the reasons it occurs and the how to avoid it for good.
AdBlue in a diesel car, and its separate tank
Many current diesels on the roads about Branston and Tatenhill carry two liquids, not one. Diesel goes to the motor. Stored in a tank of its own, AdBlue is fed into the exhaust gas to clean it.
There is a filler for every tank. Many of cars have a single flap for both, while some move the AdBlue filler to the boot or under the bonnet. At the pump, the diesel side is topped up constantly. Far less commonly, the AdBlue side gets filled — normally from a bottle, by a person working out where it goes. The slip lives in that gap.
AdBlue in your diesel tank around Branston: how it takes place
Seldom is it carelessness: usually three things coincide.
First, the warning. Low AdBlue triggers a message from the vehicle, and running dry leads to limp mode — so a hurried top-up, perhaps before work off Sedgefield Road, or outside The Riverside on the way home after work.
The old car's cap is where your hand goes — but a rental car, a new vehicle or a company car keeps the fillers somewhere else. That is a second thing: a new motor.
Lastly, the spout goes in: a diesel filler or AdBlue one, it slides in just as easily, and after the tip begins, nothing stops it. It's a few seconds, whether in Shobnall or right in the centre of Branston.
How to tell the AdBlue filler from the diesel one
A few seconds is all these take — so run through them before you tip anything, on a drive in Stapenhill or a forecourt in Branston.
- Colour and lettering: an AdBlue cap is regularly blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap normally doesn't. Trust the cap, not its position.
- The size. On plenty of vehicles the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two.
- Open the flap and check for a label — many vehicles mark what goes in which filler just there.
- Can't find it next to your diesel inlet? In that case look below the bonnet or in the boot — the owner's manual says where.
- Collecting a hire or company car, perhaps at the car park at Burton-On-Trent? Check with the person who drove the car last before you set off, not when the light goes on.
Keeping AdBlue out of your diesel tank when you top up
Wherever in Staffordshire the light comes on, here is a routine for that day.
- Turn off after you park — level ground, engine stopped, and never in a rush beside Regents Park Road on the verge.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds daft and it works.
- The diesel cap remains on. When both sit under a flap, make sure it's closed before the bottle comes up.
- Pour slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it's full or when the bottle is empty.
- Before starting the vehicle, shut the cap and check a second time that your diesel cap was never opened off.
If at stage two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Leave out stage five altogether.
Branston: already put AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Brief order, then. Top of that: your motor remains off. On plenty of diesels the ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so don't switch the car on. Don't top up with diesel to dilute it: AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of that tank, where your fuel is sucked from.
Ask the staff to help roll the car away from the petrol pump if you're on a forecourt — the Morrisons, the Applegreen or somewhere else. Leave it where it is if you are on your own driveway around Branston.
If your engine has already run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. Branston sits under 10 miles from the M42; on it, take the next junction. About how far did it go? Crossing Branston is less work than a run of under 15 miles to Lichfield, and so say.
When our technicians arrive around Branston, what happens?
Our engineers come to the vehicle wherever it has stopped, whether that is outside Rykneld Primary School, near Saint Saviour's Church or on your own drive. Both the work and the quote depend on three replies — which fluid, which amount, and if it has run — so we ask. The quote comes over the phone, before any van leaves.
Emptying the tank comes next, then a thorough flush of the system. More than with petrol, it counts here: crystals build up, some metals corrode, and none of that clears out on its own, no matter how long it sits. Once the fuel filter is cleaned — or renewed, if required — fresh diesel goes in, and finally your vehicle is tested. Before we go, our engineers start it and check that it's running properly.
Unstarted vehicles usually need a half-hour visit from the moment we arrive. The equipment is safe on a live filling station, and hushed enough for a residential street late at night. Nothing upfront; you settle up that day. Afterwards, the VAT invoice and a report from the engineer go to you for the insurer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Branston
Branston is a suburban area in Staffordshire, situated on the riverside at an elevation of 52 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Branston lies near the city of Lichfield, approximately 10 miles away, and is also close to other nearby places such as Shobnall and Bond End. Branston is part of the wider West Midlands region, with London being around 110 miles to the south. Branston has a population of around 4382 residents.
AdBlue drains around Branston, and Staffordshire beyond
Branston is a residential suburb, and our vans that cover it also work the places near it, Bond End and Burton upon Trent among them, across the DE postcode area. Quote a postcode beginning DE14 3, and the van gets there fastest.
Shifting the car isn't needed. A driveway, a lay-by on the way to Bean's Covert, a side street near All Saints: our engineers drain the vehicle where it sits. Assuming won't help behind Central Jamia Masjid Rizvia, close to a border, or somewhere awkward to describe; ring and ask.
The short version for Branston drivers
Pour no AdBlue until you've read the cap. AdBlue in the diesel tank regardless? Keep the vehicle switched off then phone 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel drains it where it stands, across Staffordshire.