Why It Occurs and How to Prevent It: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Eaton Ford
Pause reading a minute if the diesel tank already holds AdBlue in it: ignition off, engine off, then phone 0333 366 0103. In Eaton Ford, catching it before your motor runs usually means draining and a thorough flush on the spot. Not happened yet? Below, the page covers the reasons it takes place and the how to prevent it altogether.
AdBlue in a diesel motor, and its separate tank
Many modern diesels around Islands Common, as well as Eaton Ford, run on two fluids; the motor gets just your diesel. Its own tank holds it, and from there it is sent to your exhaust, where spraying cleans the gas.
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 gets filled at every filling station call-out, week in, week out. The AdBlue side is fuelled far less frequently, usually from a bottle, and normally by a person who has to stop and think where it goes. It's in the gap that the mistake happens.
How AdBlue in your diesel tank takes place in Eaton Ford
Seldom is it carelessness: usually three things line up.
The warning comes first. As AdBlue runs low the vehicle tells you, and if it runs out completely, your vehicle drops into limp mode. So the top-up is done in a hurry: on a driveway off Mullein Close before work, or in the car park at The Barley Mow on the way home.
Unfamiliar vehicles are next, too. Rentals, new cars and company vehicles place their fillers differently, and habit goes for the cap used on the old one.
Nothing stops the tip after it has started, since a bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one. The bottle fits. The same few seconds decide it, in the middle of Eaton Ford or out in St Neots.
The AdBlue filler and the diesel filler: telling them apart
Look at these before pouring, on a forecourt in Eaton Ford or a driveway out in Eynesbury. Seconds, no more.
- Colour and lettering: an AdBlue cap is often blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap normally does not. Trust the cap, not where it sits.
- On many vehicles, the size gives it away: AdBlue has the smaller filler neck.
- Lift the flap and look for a label — many vehicles mark which belongs in each filler just there.
- Can't see it next to the diesel filler? In that case look beneath the bonnet or inside your boot — the handbook will say where.
- Collecting a hire or company car, say at the car park at St Neots? Ask whoever drove the car last before leaving, rather than when the light goes on.
Topping up AdBlue without it reaching your diesel tank
Wherever around Cambridgeshire the light comes on, this is a routine for that day.
- Not in a rush on the side of Turner Road, not on a slope, not with your engine running: park then switch off properly.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, once you find the AdBlue filler and read it. Daft, perhaps, but it works.
- The diesel cap remains on. When the two share a flap, make sure it's closed before lifting the bottle.
- Slowly is best, through the bottle's own spout, till it is full or the bottle is empty.
- Close the cap and check again. Make sure your diesel cap was never opened. Only then start the car.
Stop there if you find, at stage two or three, that you've already poured into your diesel side. Skip step five altogether.
AdBlue in your diesel tank already, around Eaton Ford?
The short order of things, beginning with no starting the engine. The fuel pump runs on many diesels as soon as your ignition is switched on — and so leave it off. Do not top up with diesel to thin it: AdBlue does not mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of the tank, where the fuel is drawn from.
The attendants at Total, Shell or any forecourt will usually help pushing the car away if you ask. Your own driveway around Eaton Ford is the place it stays.
Already started? Pull over once it is sensible, then switch off. On the A1(M), under 10 miles from Eaton Ford, that means the next junction. A short hop across Eaton Ford is a smaller job than a run towards Cambridge, under 25 miles away, and so tell us about how far it went.
Eaton Ford: what happens when our engineers turn up
Outside Crosshall Infant School, close to The Eatons Community Centre or on your own driveway: wherever your car has stopped, our technicians come to it. Both the work and our quote rest on three answers — what liquid, what quantity, and if it's run — so our engineers ask. During the phone call itself, you hear our quote — before dispatch.
Then the tank is emptied and your system rinsed thoroughly. Much more than with petrol, it counts here: crystals form, certain metals are attacked, and nothing clears away unaided, no matter how long it is left. Filter flushed or, where it must be, swapped; clean diesel in; then a check of your car. We do not leave until it has been fired up and is running correctly.
If your motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there, using pumps that are safe on a busy forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house at night. The insurer usually wants an engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and you get both at the end. Payment comes on the day, with no money upfront. Before we get there, take a look at your policy; plenty carry cover for misfuelling.
About Eaton Ford and where it is
Eaton Ford is a suburban area in Cambridgeshire, situated on the banks of the River Great Ouse at an elevation of 31 metres. Eaton Ford lies near the towns of St Neots and Eaton Socon, and is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock. Eaton Ford is located approximately 17 miles from Cambridge and 50 miles from London, making it a commuter-friendly location. Eaton Ford has a population of around 5489 residents.
AdBlue drains across Cambridgeshire, Eaton Ford included
Eaton Socon and Duloe are among the towns around Eaton Ford, a residential suburb, that the same vans cover, over PE postcodes. The van reaches you fastest with a postcode starting PE19 7.
Your car stays put. The drain takes place on the spot, whether a driveway, a road by History Of Cross Hall Ford, or a layby on the way to Sudbury Meadow. Tricky to pin down, like the back of Avenue Farm? Close to a county line? Asking is better than guessing, and so ring.
Eaton Ford motorists: the short version
Read the cap before you pour. AdBlue in your diesel tank regardless? Leave the vehicle switched off then ring 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, throughout Cambridgeshire.