Why It Occurs and How to Prevent It: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Comrie
Pause here for a moment when the diesel tank already has AdBlue in it: ignition off, motor off, then call 0333 366 0103. Normally, if the engine hasn't run, it's emptied and thoroughly cleaned where your vehicle is around Comrie. Nothing happened yet? Further down, the page explains the why it occurs and the how to avoid it altogether.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel car need its own filler?
Many newer diesels around Tullybannocher, like those in Comrie, run on two liquids; the engine takes only the diesel. The exhaust, not the engine, is where AdBlue goes: sprayed into the fumes to fresh them, from its own tank.
Each tank has its own filler. On a lot of cars the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in the boot or under the bonnet. Diesel goes in at each filling station call-out, week in, week out. The AdBlue side is filled far less regularly, normally from a bottle, and usually by somebody who has to stop and think where it goes. It's in the gap that the mistake happens.
AdBlue in your diesel tank around Comrie: how it happens
Carelessness rarely explains it. Instead is three things coming up together.
On a drive off Melville Square 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 tells you, and once it is gone, limp mode follows.
The old car's filler is where your hand goes — yet a rental car, a new motor or a company car keeps the fillers elsewhere. That is a second thing: an unfamiliar car.
And the bottle fits. A bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one, so nothing stops the pour once it has started. The Ross or the heart of Comrie: it takes the same few seconds in both.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Before you pour anything, whether on a driveway in Fordie or a forecourt around Comrie, check these. They take a few seconds.
- Position can mislead; the cap does not. AdBlue ones are often blue or bear the word "AdBlue" — diesel ones usually don't.
- Many motors give AdBlue the smaller filler of the two.
- Check inside your fuel flap: many vehicles have a label there showing which fuel goes where.
- The handbook says where it is if your filler is not next to the diesel cap: the boot, or under the bonnet.
- The person who drove the vehicle last. On a hire or company car picked up from somewhere like the car park at Gleneagles, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach your diesel tank
When the light comes on, wherever in Perth and Kinross, use this routine.
- Turn off once parked — flat ground, motor off, and never rushed by Bridge Street at the roadside.
- Daft as it sounds, saying "AdBlue" aloud as you unscrew the cap works — once you have found the filler and read it.
- If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave it on.
- Gently is best, through the bottle's own spout, until it is full or the bottle runs out.
- Close the cap and check a second time. Make sure the diesel cap was never opened. Only then start your car.
Spot at stage two or three that it's already gone into the diesel side? Then stop right there. Step five is off limits.
Comrie: already put AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Then the order of things is short. Don't start your engine. Keep the ignition off too, since on many diesels it by itself starts your fuel pump. Don't top up with diesel to thin it: AdBlue does not mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of that tank, where your fuel is sucked from.
On a forecourt — the nearest petrol station, another forecourt nearby or another — the attendants will normally help push the vehicle away, when you ask. Leave it where it is if you're on your own drive around Comrie.
Already run? Stop once it's safe, then switch off. On the M9, under 15 miles from Comrie, that means the next exit. Roughly how far did it go? Crossing Comrie is smaller a job than a trip of under 25 miles towards Stirling, so say.
What takes place when our technicians turn up in Comrie
Our engineers come to the car wherever it has stopped, whether that is outside the local primary school, close to Comrie Community Centre or on your own drive. We ask what went in, about how much, and if it's run, since the replies settle the work and our quote. You hear that quote on the phone, before anybody sets off.
Emptying that tank comes next, followed by a full flush of the system. With AdBlue that counts more than with petrol: it crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't wash out on its own. Once the filter has been flushed — or replaced, if required — fresh diesel goes in, and finally the vehicle gets tested. Your engine is started next and tested to confirm it runs smoothly, all before our engineers leave.
Most jobs are done in roughly half an hour after our technicians get there, as long as the motor hasn't run — and the pumps our engineers use are safe on a busy forecourt yet quiet after dark beside a house. The insurer usually wants the engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and you get both once the job is done. Payment comes on the day, with no deposit. It's worth looking at your policy while we travel to you: misfuelling cover comes with plenty of policies.
About Comrie itself
Comrie is a village situated on the banks of the River Earn in Perth and Kinross, with a population of around 936 people. Comrie has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are particularly prevalent. Comrie sits at an elevation of 61 metres, close to the nearby settlements of The Ross, Dalginross, and Polinard. Comrie is located approximately 18 miles from the city of Stirling, and 371 miles from London.
Comrie and Perth and Kinross: AdBlue drains across the area
Comrie is a village, and the teams that cover it also work the towns near it, Dalginross and Polinard among them, across the PH postcode area. The van reaches you fastest with a postcode starting PH6 2.
The vehicle stays where it is. A driveway, a lay-by on the way to St Kessog's Square, a side street near War Memorial Institute: our technicians drain the vehicle where it stands. Assuming won't help at the back of Comrie War Memorial, on a border, or anywhere awkward to pin down; ring and ask.
In short, for Comrie people
Before you pour, read the cap. AdBlue in the diesel tank regardless? Leave the vehicle off then ring 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel drains it where it stands, across Perth and Kinross.