AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Eling: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
If AdBlue is already in your diesel tank, stop reading for a moment: leave your engine and the ignition off then call 0333 366 0103. Around Eling, catching it before the motor runs normally leaves draining and a full flush where it stands. Reading before the event? In that case the rest covers how it comes about and what to prevent it happening at all.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel motor need its own filler?
Not one fluid but two: that is what many newer diesels near Eling and Hounsdown carry, with diesel feeding the motor. AdBlue's own tank holds it, and from there it goes to the exhaust, where spraying cleans the fumes.
Different tanks, different fillers. 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 on each filling station visit, again and again. The AdBlue side is topped up far less regularly, normally from a bottle, and usually by somebody who has to stop and think where it goes. The slip lives in that gap.
How does AdBlue in the diesel tank take place in Eling?
Seldom is it carelessness: usually three things line up.
Haste comes from the warning. Your car warns you as AdBlue runs low, and a dry tank puts the vehicle into limp mode — so the top-up happens in a rush, before work on a driveway off Downs Park Avenue, or on the way home in the car park outside The Anchor Inn.
The old car's filler is where the hand reaches — but a rental car, a new motor or a company car puts the fillers elsewhere. That's the second thing: a strange vehicle.
No part stops the pour 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 settle it, in the middle of Eling or out in Brokenford.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Before you tip anything, whether on a drive in Redbridge or a forecourt around Eling, check these. They take a couple of seconds.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is regularly blue, or marked "AdBlue". The diesel cap usually is not. Read it rather than going by where it sits.
- On many motors, size gives it away: AdBlue gets the smaller filler neck.
- Open the flap and look for a label — many motors show which belongs in each inlet just there.
- In the boot or under the bonnet: that's where your filler is if it is not by the diesel cap, and the handbook says which.
- The person who drove it last. On a hire or company car picked up from somewhere like the car park at Totton, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach your diesel tank
The day the light goes on, wherever in Hampshire, follow this routine.
- Not in a rush on the side of Eling Lane, not on a slope, not with your motor running: park and switch off first.
- Silly as it sounds, saying "AdBlue" aloud while you unscrew the cap does the trick — after you have found the filler and read it.
- Leave your diesel cap on. If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle.
- Gently does it, through the bottle's own spout, till it is full or the bottle is empty.
- Before starting the vehicle, shut the cap and look a second time that the diesel cap never opened off.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into your diesel side, stop there. Stage five stays out.
Eling: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
What follows is a short order of things, beginning with not starting your engine. Don't switch the ignition on; on plenty of diesels that alone runs the fuel pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where your fuel is drawn from — so don't top up with diesel to dilute it.
If you're at a forecourt, whether it is the Esso or the Shell, ask the attendants to help push your car clear of the petrol pump. On your own drive in Eling? So your car stays put.
If your engine has already run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The next junction is where to come off if you are on the Nursling Spur Motorway, under a mile from Eling. A short hop across Eling is a smaller job than a run towards Southampton, under 5 miles away, and so tell us about how far it went.
Our arrival in Eling, and what happens next
Our engineers come to the vehicle wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Eling Infant School and Nursery, near Eling Tide Mill Experience Visitor Centre or on your own driveway. Both the work and the quote rest on three answers — what fluid, what amount, and if it has run — so we ask. You hear that quote by phone, before anyone sets off.
The system is then cleaned thoroughly, once your tank is drained. Unlike petrol, AdBlue leaves crystals and attacks certain fuel-system metals, and none of that washes away by itself. That is why it counts more. The filter cleaned or, if it must be, replaced; clean diesel in; then a test of your vehicle. We do not leave until it has been started and is running properly.
Unstarted cars mostly need a half-hour visit after arrival. The kit is fine on a busy forecourt, and quiet enough for a driveway late at night. The insurer will ask for an engineer's report and the VAT invoice, and you get both once this job is done. Payment comes on the day, with no money upfront. Wrong-fuel cover is part of many insurance policies — and so make use of the wait to check yours.
About Eling, briefly
Eling is a coastal suburban area in Hampshire, situated near the city of Southampton and close to the towns of Totton and Rushington. Eling lies at a low elevation of around 4 metres, reflecting its proximity to the sea. Eling has a mix of housing types, but terraced houses are particularly prevalent in the area. Eling is located approximately 71.6 miles from London, making it a commuter option for some residents.
Eling and Hampshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Eling is a residential suburb, and our teams that cover it also work the places around it, Totton and Rushington among them, across the SO postcode area. A postcode starting SO40 9 gets the van to you fastest.
Moving your car is not necessary. The drain takes place on the spot, be it a drive, a road by Eling Tide Mill, or a layby towards The Stable Field. Assuming doesn't help behind St Mary the Virgin, on a border, or somewhere hard to pin down; ring and check.
In short, for Eling drivers
First, the cap; then, the pour. Even so AdBlue in your diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel will empty it where it stands, wherever around Hampshire: switch it off and phone 0333 366 0103.