AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Castlederg: How It Occurs and How to Prevent It
Pause reading for a moment when your diesel tank already has AdBlue in it: ignition off, engine off, and ring 0333 366 0103. Caught before your engine runs, it is usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Castlederg. The remainder of this page covers why it takes place and how to ensure it doesn't — useful if you're reading ahead of time.
AdBlue in a diesel motor, and its separate tank
Plenty of modern diesels in Killen, like those in Castlederg, carry on two liquids; the motor gets only the diesel. Stored in a tank of its own, AdBlue is sprayed into the exhaust stream and cleans it.
There's a filler on every tank. On a lot of cars the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in your boot or under the bonnet. The diesel side is topped up at the petrol pump all the time. The AdBlue side is topped up far less regularly, normally from a bottle, and normally by somebody who has to stop and think where it goes. It's in that gap that the error happens.
Castlederg: how AdBlue in the diesel tank takes place
Three things tend to line up, and carelessness is rarely one of them.
On a drive off Crom Street before work, or in the car park at the pub in the village on the way home: that is where the rushed top-up takes place. Why the rush? As AdBlue runs low the car warns you, and once it's gone, limp mode follows.
Next, the hand reaches for the cap it would have used on the old motor — since a rental car, a new car or a company car places the fillers where your last one didn't.
And the bottle fits. A bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one, so nothing stops the tip after it has started. Whether it occurs in Spamount or the middle of Castlederg, it is the same few seconds.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Be it a Castlederg forecourt or a drive out in Killeter, take a few seconds over these before any goes in.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is often blue, or marked "AdBlue". The diesel cap usually is not. Read it instead of going by position.
- On many motors, size gives it away: AdBlue gets the smaller filler neck.
- Lift the flap and look for a label — plenty of motors show what belongs in each filler just there.
- The handbook. If your filler isn't by the diesel cap, it's in your boot or under the bonnet, and the handbook says which.
- The person who drove the car last. On a hire or company car picked up from somewhere like the car park outside the nearest station, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
Keeping AdBlue out of your diesel tank when you top up
Anywhere in County Tyrone the light comes on, this is a routine for that day.
- Not in a rush on the side of Rock Street, not on a slope, not with the engine running: park and switch off first.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, once you find the AdBlue filler and read it. Daft, yes, but it works.
- The diesel cap remains on. Where the two sit under a flap, confirm it is shut before lifting the bottle.
- Finish when your tank fills or the bottle is empty; until then, pour slowly using its built-in spout.
- Close the cap and check a second time. Make sure your diesel cap was never opened. Only then start your car.
Stop there if you find, at step two or three, that you've already poured into the diesel side. Leave out stage five altogether.
Already put AdBlue in the diesel tank around Castlederg?
Short list, then. First: your motor remains off. On many diesels the ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so don't switch the car on. Thinning it with more diesel won't work, because AdBlue settles to the base instead of mixing — and that's where the fuel is pulled from.
If you're at a forecourt, whether it is the the nearest petrol station or the another forecourt nearby, ask the staff to help roll the car away from the pump. Leave it where it is if you are on your own driveway around Castlederg.
Where your motor has run by now, pull over safely then switch the car off. Castlederg sits over 50 miles from the M77; there, take the first junction. About how far did it go? Crossing Castlederg is smaller work than a trip of under 25 miles to Derry, so tell us.
What takes place when our technicians arrive in Castlederg
Our van reaches your car anywhere it has come to rest — your own drive, beside the centre, or by the local primary school. Our technicians ask what went in, about how much, and if it has run, since those replies determine this work and our quote. You get that price by phone, before anyone heads out.
Emptying your tank comes next, then a thorough flush of the system. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't wash out on its own — which is why that counts more with AdBlue than with petrol. After the fuel filter is flushed — or renewed, where needed — clean diesel goes in, and then the car gets tested. Before leaving, we fire it up and confirm that it is running properly.
If your motor has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we are there, using pumps that are safe on a busy forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house after dark. The insurer will ask for the engineer's report and the VAT invoice, and you get both once the job is done. Payment comes on the day, with no deposit. It is worth looking at your policy while we travel to you: misfuelling cover is included with plenty of policies.
About Castlederg and where it is
Castlederg is a small locality in County Tyrone, situated inland at an elevation of 48 metres, and is located near the villages of Spamount and Garvetagh. Castlederg lies approximately 22.9 miles from Derry, the nearest city, and is characterized by its semi-detached housing stock. Castlederg is part of the wider rural landscape of Northern Ireland, with rolling hills and countryside surrounding the area. Castlederg has a population of around 1140 people, making it a small but distinct community in the region.
AdBlue drains across County Tyrone, Castlederg included
Throughout BT postcodes, the teams covering Castlederg — a small village — work the nearby places too, Erganagh and Garvetagh included. A postcode starting BT81 7 gets the van to you fastest.
Shifting the car is not needed. The drain takes place right there, whether a driveway, a road near a street just off the centre, or a lay-by on the way to the green space at the edge of the village. Assuming doesn't help behind the far end of the built-up part, close to a boundary, or anywhere awkward to pin down; ring and check.
For Castlederg people, the short version
Before you pour, read the cap. If AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank regardless, leave it off then phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it waits, anywhere around County Tyrone.