AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Felling: Why It Occurs and How to Prevent It
Leave the motor and ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103 first — reading can wait when AdBlue is already in the diesel tank. Caught before the motor runs, it is normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Felling. Reading before the event? In that case what follows covers why it happens and how to prevent it happening at all.
AdBlue in a diesel motor, and its separate tank
Not one liquid but two: that is what plenty of newer diesels near Felling and Heworth Shore carry, with diesel for the motor. AdBlue's own tank keeps it, and from there it goes to your exhaust, where a spray treats the fumes.
There is a filler on each tank. Under one flap, side by side: that is the arrangement on many vehicles. Elsewhere, AdBlue's filler is beneath the bonnet or in the boot instead. The diesel side is fuelled at the petrol pump all the time. The AdBlue side is topped up far less commonly, usually from a bottle, and normally by a person who has to stop and think where it goes. Mistakes happen in that gap between them.
How AdBlue in the diesel tank takes place in Felling
It's seldom carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
On a driveway off Saint Johns Place before work, or in the car park outside The Mallard on the way home: that is where the hurried top-up takes place. Why the rush? As AdBlue runs low the car tells you, and if it's empty, limp mode kicks in.
Then, the hand goes for the cap it would have used on the old vehicle — because a hire car, a new motor or a company car places the fillers somewhere your last one did not.
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 after it has started. Old Fold or the middle of Felling: it is the same few seconds either way.
The AdBlue filler and your diesel filler: telling them apart
Check these first, at a forecourt around Felling or a drive out in Heworth. Seconds, no more.
- Check the cap rather than going by position: AdBlue ones are regularly blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel caps usually aren't.
- Plenty of cars fit AdBlue the smaller neck of the two.
- A label inside your fuel flap frequently says which fuel goes where, on many cars. Check for it.
- The handbook says where it is when your filler is not next to the diesel cap: the boot, or under the bonnet.
- The previous driver knows. Ask when you pick up a rental or fleet car — from Heworth's car park, perhaps — not once the light appears.
How to top up without AdBlue in the diesel tank
When the light goes on, anywhere across Tyne and Wear, follow this routine.
- Park and switch off. Not on a slope, not with your engine running, and not in a rush on the side of Carlisle Street.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds silly and it does the trick.
- The diesel cap remains on. When the two share a flap, confirm it's closed before the bottle comes up.
- Slowly is best, through the bottle's own spout, till it's full or the bottle runs out.
- Only then, start the car: close the cap, check a second time, and make sure the diesel cap was never opened.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Do not go on to stage five.
Put AdBlue in the diesel tank around Felling already?
Do not start your motor: that's where the short order of things starts. Keep your ignition off as well, because on plenty of diesels it alone starts your fuel pump. Diluting it with more diesel won't work, because AdBlue sinks to the bottom rather than blending — and that's where your fuel is pulled from.
Ask the attendants to help push your car away from the petrol pump if you are on a forecourt — the Jet, the JET or somewhere else. Leave it where it is if you're on your own drive in Felling.
Already run? Pull over once it's sensible, then turn off. On the A194(M), under 3 miles from Felling, that means the next junction. About how far did it go? Crossing Felling is less a job than a run of under 3 miles towards Newcastle upon Tyne, and so say.
Our arrival in Felling, and what happens next
Anywhere the car came to rest, be it by Brandling Primary School, near The House On The Hill - Christ Church Community Project or at home, our van comes to it. Our engineers ask what went in, about how much, and whether it's run, because the answers settle this work and our quote. No one heads out until you have heard our quote by phone.
Your system is then purged thoroughly, after your tank is cleared. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't wash out on its own — which is why that matters more with AdBlue than with petrol. Testing comes last: before that, fresh diesel is added, and the filter is cleaned or replaced if necessary. We don't go until it has been fired up and is running smoothly.
Unrun cars usually need a half-hour job from the moment we arrive. The equipment is fine on a busy filling station, and quiet enough for a driveway after dark. Your insurer usually wants the engineer's report and the VAT invoice, and both are yours once the job is done. Payment comes on the day, with no money upfront. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Felling
Felling is a suburban area located inland in Tyne and Wear, England, with an elevation of 51 metres above sea level. Felling sits approximately 2.4 miles from Newcastle upon Tyne, and is situated near other local areas such as Old Fold and Heworth Lane. Felling has a population of around 5217 people, and its predominant housing stock consists of semi-detached homes. Felling is also close to the Felling Shore, which offers views of the surrounding area.
Felling and Tyne and Wear: AdBlue drains across the area
Felling is a residential suburb, and the vans that cover it also work the places around it, Heworth Lane and Felling Shore among them, across the NE postcode area. The van reaches you fastest with a postcode starting NE10 9.
Shifting your car isn't necessary. The drain happens on the spot, be it a driveway, a road near St Patrick's Catholic Church, Felling, or a lay-by on the way to Holly Hill Park. If you're close to a boundary, or somewhere hard to describe like the back of Felling High Street Hub, ring and ask instead of assuming.
In short, for Felling drivers
Pour nothing until you've read the cap. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, anywhere across Tyne and Wear, if AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank all the same — and so leave it off then call 0333 366 0103.