What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Colne
One thing counts above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether your engine has been started since. Not run yet? Then leave it that way, wherever your vehicle is — Colne or Church Clough. Leave your engine and your ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is in Colne. When your engine has run, stop safely straight away, then switch the vehicle off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Below: the cases we see, wherever across Lancashire. Pick the one that fits.
Colne forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Only at this point, bottle still in your hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Somewhere in Colne, then — Sainsbury's, EG On the Move, or somewhere else nearby.
The point: of every spot to notice, this is the best. No pump has pulled it in, and so the AdBlue sits just inside the tank.
Freeing the petrol pump is no excuse to run it — and so do not get back in. Ask the attendants to help you push your car into a parking bay, keep the till receipt or the bottle, and phone us from the forecourt. If it can't be moved, it can be cleared at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Colne drive?
The warning light had been on for days. Bought a container, tipped it in outside the house, recycled the empty — and at that point looked at the cap a second time, too late. It occurs on drives just off Skipton Road as commonly as anywhere.
The point: zero driving since makes it nearly as good to spotting it at the petrol pump. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue settles to the base of the tank and remains there, however long it waits.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so no one moves your car in the morning. Then call. In Waterside or right here in Colne, the drain happens at your drive. Our pumping kit works quietly enough not to disturb the street at night.
Colne: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Filled up, drove away, and before long your motor was turning unevenly, blowing smoke, losing power, or lighting up your dash. Maybe heading for Bradford, under 25 miles away, or just along Keighley Road.
What it means: the fuel system has drawn the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and each injector see it too on a bigger trip, once your filter and pipework have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Your move: pull up anywhere safe, then switch the engine off. On the M65, under 3 miles from Colne, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Don't restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Phone, saying what distance your car went.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've just had this car for days. On your own car, AdBlue is missing or elsewhere. On this one, its cap is right by the diesel inlet — news to you. Throughout Lancashire, nobody is safe from it.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. The owner often needs to approve any work, under plenty of hire and company agreements.
Sorting it before we arrives is quicker, and so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, then us. Stuck by Colne Library or at the nearest station until someone replies, the car stays turned off throughout.
Colne: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Sometimes the fair answer is "I think so". A slight ammonia-like smell lingers around your filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is a blur. It might have been on a friend's drive in Primet Bridge, or rushing by West Street Community Primary School at the school run.
The point: the engine is not hurt by some AdBlue splashed on the filler. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Starting the car cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it will pull it in.
Take it that it was put in, and never turn the key. Describe what you saw on the phone. A clear tank looked at counts as a happier outcome than an already-run one drained.
What every AdBlue drain in Colne has in common
The job opens identically, whatever your case. Three questions are asked once our engineers arrive — on a forecourt, a drive, a street beside Colne Market Hall or the car park outside The Commercial: the fluid, the quantity, and whether it has been started. On the phone, ahead of dispatch, you are told our quote, and those replies shape the work too.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it's essential, since crystals form and some metals corrode, and neither washes away unaided. Fresh diesel goes in once your filter is flushed or replaced, and your car is then tested. Where the motor hasn't run, expect about half an hour once we arrive, for most jobs.
Firing it up comes at the end. Our check that it runs smoothly on new diesel comes before our engineers go. Long-term damage is very unusual when it is noticed soon, and the entire job is done where your car is. Paying is on the day, never upfront. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. It is worth remembering: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your documents while we travel pays.
About Colne, for a moment
Colne is a town situated in a riverside location in Lancashire, England. It is nestled near other major towns, including Nelson and Burnley, and is also within reach of the city of Preston. The town has a long history as a market centre, serving the local community. Colne is part of the Borough of Pendle, in the north west of England.
AdBlue drains around Colne, and across Lancashire too
Colne is a riverside town, and the same vans that cover it work the towns around it too, Carry Bridge and Lenches among them, across the BB postcode area. The whereabouts comes quickest from a postcode that starts BB8 0.
Central Colne or a lay-by towards Millenium Green: wherever it sits, the car never needs to move at all for us. Our technicians drain the car where it sits. Guessing won't help near Saint Bartholomew's, close to a border or somewhere hard to pin down; ring and ask.
In one line: your situation
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off and ring. Run by now? Stop, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whatever it is, across Colne and Lancashire, on 0333 366 0103.