AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Ferndale, and What to Do Next
Everything turns on one detail: if your motor has started after the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the car is around Ferndale itself or out in Ystrad. Call 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and motor both off. Across Ferndale, such a case is typically drained and flushed on the spot. Already run? Pull over once safe, then switch everything off. A bigger job, then, yet the same first move.
Anywhere in Rhondda Cynon Taf it happened, one of the cases below fits yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Ferndale forecourt
You're at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Somewhere around Ferndale, then — Murco, Texaco, or somewhere else nearby.
Meaning? Spotting it on the forecourt is as good as it can be. Nothing has pulled it through, and so the AdBlue sits just in your tank.
Do this: stay out of the driver's seat, however much the queue wants freeing. Get the attendants to help pushing it into a bay, save the bottle, then phone us from there. Stuck by the petrol pump? Explosion-proof equipment makes a live forecourt sensible, and so we can drain the car where it is.
At home around Ferndale with AdBlue in your diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Bought a container, poured it in at home, recycled the empty — and at that point looked at the cap again, after the fact. It happens on driveways just off High Street as frequently as anywhere.
Meaning? Provided your vehicle has not been driven since, it's second to the pump case. Being unable to mix, AdBlue drops low inside your tank and waits. One night standing alters nothing.
Put the keys indoors tonight — or a person may drive it away at breakfast — then phone us. Your driveway is where it gets emptied, be it in Ferndale or Blaenllechau. Our equipment works quietly enough not to disturb the street at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Ferndale?
Rough running, smoke, falling power or a glowing dashboard arrived a mile or two beyond the top-up. Possibly it was on Cross Street, maybe on the way out towards Cardiff, under 25 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked through the system. The injection pump and every injector see it as well on a longer trip, once your filter and pipework have had it. More driving, more starts: further it travels.
Next: find a sensible spot, pull in, and switch the motor off. Ferndale sits under 10 miles from the M4; there, come off at the first junction rather than pushing on to the services. Restarting it to test achieves nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear on its own. Let us know the distance covered as you ring.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It's a vehicle you have had for a week. Your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, so nothing warned you the AdBlue cap was right next to the diesel. Wherever you happen to be around Rhondda Cynon Taf, any motorist can slip up.
Meaning? Whichever case above applies here — run or unrun — plus one extra stage. Plenty of rental and company contracts need the owner's sign-off before repairs.
Sorting it before we arrives is quicker, and so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, then us. Waiting for an answer in the car park at Ystrad Rhondda, or near Ferndale Library? Keep the car off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Ferndale?
"I think so" is often the most honest answer there is. What cap came off, you can't recall; but the bottle weighs lighter than expected, and ammonia hangs by your filler. The gates of the local primary school in a rush, say, or a friend's driveway over in Stanleytown.
The point: the engine is not hurt by a little AdBlue spilled around the filler. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different story. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will pull in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Do this: behave as if it got in, and never start the engine. Ring with what you saw: we'd rather find a clean tank than empty one after the engine has been run.
Every AdBlue drain in Ferndale shares these steps
The work begins identically, whichever the case. Forecourt, drive, the pub in the village's car park or a street beside Tylorstown Welfare Hall — the van comes to your vehicle, and three answers come next: what liquid, which quantity, and whether it has run. On the phone, ahead of anything else, you hear the quote, and those answers decide the job too.
Then that tank is emptied and the fuel system flushed thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't rinse out on its own. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Not started? In that case roughly half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
Finally, our engineers start it. We check it runs correctly on fresh diesel before leaving. Our engineers do the whole job where the car is, and long-term damage is very unusual if it has been caught early. Nothing is taken upfront, settlement happens on the day, and you receive what the insurer wants: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. It is worth knowing: lots of insurers include misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your documents while you wait is worthwhile.
About Ferndale itself
Ferndale is a town situated lakeside in Rhondda Cynon Taf, with a mix of terraced housing and scenic views. Ferndale sits at an elevation of 239 metres, overlooking the surrounding landscape. Ferndale is located near several neighbouring towns, including Blaenllechau, Tylorstown, and Penrhys, and is approximately 17 miles from Cardiff. Ferndale has a population of around 4301 residents.
AdBlue drains across Rhondda Cynon Taf, Ferndale included
Ferndale is a town, and the same vans that cover it work the places around it too, Tylorstown and Penrhys among them, across the CF postcode area. A postcode starting CF43 4 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Darren Park or in a car park in the middle of Ferndale, it doesn't need to move. Our engineers drain it where it stands. If you are somewhere hard to explain, near St Stephen's Church or close to a border, ring and ask rather than guessing.
Your scenario, summed up
Motor not started: ring, and leave it alone. Run by now? Stop, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whichever case, across Ferndale and Rhondda Cynon Taf, on 0333 366 0103.