AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Cowdenbeath: What Now?
One thing matters most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether your engine has been started since. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether the car is in Cowdenbeath itself or out in Donibristle. Leave your engine and your ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103; it's normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is in Cowdenbeath. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. A larger job, yes, but the identical first move.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in Fife it happened.
Cowdenbeath forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just spot it while you are standing at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. Maybe you're at the Gulf, possibly at the BP, maybe somewhere else around Cowdenbeath.
The upshot: of every spot to find out, the forecourt is the best. No pump has pulled it through, and so the AdBlue sits just in your tank.
Freeing the pump is no excuse to start it — so do not get back in. Ask the attendants to help you roll your car into a parking bay, keep the receipt or the bottle, then call us from the forecourt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, and so a vehicle that cannot be pushed away is cleared where it is at the petrol pump.
Cowdenbeath, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look a second time at the cap. Houses just off Stenhouse Street are caught out as often as anywhere else.
In short: if the vehicle hasn't been driven since, it's almost as good as finding out at the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue settles to the base of your tank and remains put, no matter how long it waits.
Next: the keys in the house, so nobody drives your car anywhere at breakfast. After that, ring. Our technicians drain the car on your driveway, whether that's in Cowdenbeath or out in Lumphinnans. Night-time empties beside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Cowdenbeath?
Topped up, pulled away, and soon the motor was running roughly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up your dash. Somewhere on Union Street or else on the road to Dunfermline — under 10 miles away.
The upshot: the system has drawn AdBlue in already. Through your filter, along the pipework, and — the more the distance — deeper into the high-pressure pump and every injector. More driving, more starts: further it travels.
Next: pick a safe place, pull in, then turn your motor off. Cowdenbeath sits under 3 miles from the M90; on it, pull off at the next junction instead of pushing on for the services. No trial starts: clearing is not something AdBlue will do. Phone us and say how far you travelled.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
You've had this vehicle hardly a week. The AdBlue filler is right beside the diesel one, which you didn't know, because your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Any driver, anywhere in Fife, might do the same.
Meaning? Whichever applies above counts too — run or unrun — plus one further stage. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before our engineers arrive than after. Keep it off while the reply comes, even if you're parked at the nearest station or close to The Salvation Army.
Cowdenbeath: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Now and then, "I think so" is the most you can truthfully say. Lighter, the bottle; a trace of ammonia near the filler; no clear recollection of which cap. Look familiar? Possibly it happened in a hurry at the school gates at the local primary school, or on a friend's drive in Kelty.
Meaning? Spills around the inlet never reach the motor at all. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different story. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Your move: act as if it got in, and don't start your motor. Inspecting a tank that proves free of AdBlue beats draining one once it's been run — so phone and describe to us what you saw.
Cowdenbeath: what every AdBlue drain has in common
The job begins the same way, whichever the case. Three questions are asked when our engineers arrive — at a forecourt, a drive, a street by War Memorial or the car park outside Wee Jimmies: the fluid, the quantity, and whether it has run. Replies shape the job; the quote follows on the call while no one has left yet.
Then the tank is cleared and the system rinsed thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Your filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Where your engine has not run, allow roughly half an hour once we arrive, in most jobs.
Our engineers fire it up at the end. Our check that it runs smoothly on clean diesel comes before we head off. If it is spotted soon, the car very seldom has lasting damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. Worth knowing: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your documents as you wait is worthwhile.
About Cowdenbeath and where it is
Cowdenbeath is a town in Fife, situated on the banks of the River Ore, with a mix of semi-detached housing and other residential properties. Cowdenbeath sits at an elevation of around 128 metres, close to the nearby communities of Lumphinnans and Hill of Beath. Cowdenbeath is located near the town of Lochgelly and the city of Dunfermline, which is approximately 5 miles away. Cowdenbeath has a population of around 10,114 people, making it a sizable urban centre in the region.
AdBlue drains across Fife, Cowdenbeath included
Throughout KY postcodes, the vans covering Cowdenbeath — a riverside town — reach nearby places too, Hill of Beath and Lochgelly among them. Telling us your KY4 9 postcode pins you quickest of all.
Stopped en route to Cowdenbeath Public Park, or right in the centre of Cowdenbeath, your car stays where it is — there is no need to move it at all. Our engineers drain the vehicle where it stands. Tricky to explain? Close to Cowdenbeath Library or a county line? Asking beats assuming, and so ring.
Your situation, summed up
Unstarted? Leave it that way and phone. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Cowdenbeath and anywhere around Fife on 0333 366 0103.