AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Christchurch, and What to Do Next
Everything hinges on one detail: if the motor has been run after the AdBlue was added — far more than anything else. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether your car is in Christchurch itself or out in Five Acres. Leave your engine and the ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103; it is usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Christchurch. Pull over the minute you safely can then switch off, if it has already run. Step one stays unchanged, even though the work grows.
Below: the cases our technicians meet, wherever across Gloucestershire. Pick the one that fits.
On a Christchurch forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only notice it as you're standing at the pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. Somewhere around Christchurch, then — Texaco, Applegreen, or anywhere else nearby.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is the best it gets. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Your move: stay out of the driver's seat, however much the pump needs clearing. A few things: a shove into a bay with the attendants helping, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from where you stand. The equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a live forecourt, and so a vehicle that can't be pushed away is cleared right at the pump.
Christchurch, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you had used on the drive. Just off Kells Road is not different from any other place.
Meaning? Provided the vehicle has not been driven since, it is second to the forecourt case. On the bottom of your tank is exactly where AdBlue stays, since it will not mix with diesel — and a night going by changes no difference.
Put your keys indoors overnight — or someone might drive it off first thing — and phone us. Berry Hill or Christchurch: whichever your driveway sits, that's where it gets cleared. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
On the road in Christchurch with AdBlue in a diesel
A short way after topping up, the engine started playing up: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on your dash. Somewhere along Marians Walk or else heading towards Gloucester — under 25 miles away.
What it means: the fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. It's been through the fuel filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Do this: stop somewhere safe, then turn the engine off. Christchurch lies under 10 miles from the M50; there, come off at the first junction instead of pushing on to the services. It will not have cleared, and so there is no point restarting to find out. Roughly what distance did it go? Tell us when you phone.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've had the vehicle barely a week. On your own car, AdBlue is absent or somewhere else. On this one, its inlet is right next to the diesel inlet — a surprise to you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around Gloucestershire.
The point: just as above, split by if it ran, only with an added step. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Settling it before the van turn up is faster, so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. Stranded by Christ Church or at Lydney until someone replies, your vehicle stays turned off the whole time.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Christchurch?
Honestly, the only answer may be that you think it did. A slight ammonia smell lingers around the filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is a blur. A hurried top-up by the gates of Berry Hill Primary School, or a call to a friend in Shortstanding: either fits.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no harm to your motor. In your diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. Starting your car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in that tank it will draw it in.
Do this: act as though it got in, and never start the motor. Checking a tank that turns out free of AdBlue is better than emptying one after it has been run — so ring then tell us what you saw.
Every AdBlue drain in Christchurch shares these steps
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Our engineers come to the car, whether it is at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at The Globe or a side street close to Mount of Olives, and ask three things: what went in, roughly how much, and whether the motor has run. Those replies settle the work, and you hear the quote by phone, before anybody sets off.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it's crucial, because deposits form and some metals corrode, and neither rinses out unaided. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. The majority of unstarted cars are a half-hour job after the moment our technicians get there.
Finally, our technicians fire it up. With fresh diesel in, it runs while we make sure it is running properly, and then we head off. Our technicians do the whole job where your car is, and permanent damage is very rare if it has been noticed soon. Nothing is paid upfront, payment is made on the day, and you get what your insurer asks for: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Dig out your insurance before we're en route: cover for misfuelling is included in many policies.
About Christchurch itself
Christchurch is a suburban area in Gloucestershire, situated inland at an elevation of approximately 230 metres. Christchurch lies near the communities of Berry Hill, Joyford, and Lower Berry Hill, and is located about 16 miles from Gloucester. Christchurch is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its residential nature. Christchurch is also relatively distant from London, at around 109 miles away.
AdBlue drains around Christchurch, and across Gloucestershire too
As a residential suburb, Christchurch shares its vans with the nearby towns — Lower Berry Hill, Joyford — right through GL postcodes. Fastest of all: a GL16 8 postcode to show your location.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Ellis Reddings Wood or in a car park in the middle of Christchurch, it does not need to shift. The van empties it in place. Guessing won't help near Site of Chapel, on a county line or somewhere hard to pin down; phone and ask.
Your scenario, summed up
Where it hasn't started, ring then leave it that way. Started by now? Stop, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whichever case, across Christchurch and Gloucestershire, on 0333 366 0103.