AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Fonston, and What to Do Next
One fact counts most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is if the motor has run since. Over in Downinney or right around Fonston, an unstarted engine must stay unrun. Leave the motor and the ignition off then call 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Fonston. Pull over the minute you safely can and switch off, if it has been run. It is a larger job, though step one doesn't change.
Anywhere in Cornwall it happened, one of the situations below matches yours.
On a Fonston forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only notice it as you're stood at the pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Anywhere around Fonston, then — Essar, Gulf, or anywhere else close by.
The point: of all places to find out, this is the best. Just your tank holds AdBlue; no component past it has drawn any in.
What to do: do not get back in and crank it to clear the petrol pump. Phone us from the forecourt after the vehicle is in a space — the attendants will lend a hand to roll it — and keep the receipt. Stuck by the pump? Our explosion-proof equipment keeps a live forecourt sensible, and so it can be drained in place.
Fonston, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
Days had gone by with the warning light on. Bought a bottle, poured it in outside the house, recycled the empty — and only then checked the cap again, after the fact. Homes just off Trelawney Close get hit as often as everywhere else.
Meaning? As long as the vehicle hasn't moved since, it's second to the pump case. As it is reluctant to mix, AdBlue settles to the base inside your tank and waits. A night standing changes nothing.
Next: keys indoors, so no one takes the car off first thing. After that, ring. In Canworthy Water or here in Fonston, the drain happens at your drive. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel around Fonston?
Rough running, smoke, falling power or a lit dashboard arrived a mile or two after the top-up. Maybe it was on Bury Close, perhaps on the way out towards Plymouth, under 50 miles away.
The upshot: your system has drawn AdBlue through already. It has been through the filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors. Each restart, like each mile, pushes it on.
Stop safely — that is the first job — then turn it off. On the M5, under 50 miles from Fonston, that means the next junction, not the services further on. It won't have cleared, so there's no sense starting it again to check. Call us and say how far you went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
It's a car you have had for a week. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers sit side by side here — not like your own car, which has none or keeps it in another spot. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Cornwall.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. Work on the vehicle often requires the owner's go-ahead under hire or company terms.
Next: phone the rental company or your fleet manager first, then us — settling it before we arrive is quicker. Waiting for a reply in the car park at the nearest station, or beside Warbstow Community Centre? Leave the engine off throughout.
Fonston: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
At times, "I think so" is the most anyone can truthfully say. A slight ammonia-like smell lingers near the filler, the bottle feels too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Warbstow Primary Academy, or on a friend's drive in Broad Langdon.
The point: your engine is not hurt by some AdBlue spilled around the filler. In your diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue harms it. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so will pull in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Take it that it went in, and don't turn the engine. Ring with the details: we'd sooner find a clean tank than empty one once your motor has been run.
What each AdBlue drain around Fonston has in common
The work begins identically, whichever your case. Forecourt, drive, the pub in the village's car park or a road by St Werburgh, Warbstow — our van comes to your car, and three questions follow: which fluid, what amount, and if it ran. Those replies determine this work, and you hear our quote on the phone, before anyone heads out.
Then your tank is drained and the fuel system cleaned thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not rinse out on its own. Then is your filter — flushed, or replaced where necessary — followed by fresh diesel, and a test of your vehicle. Where the motor has not run, expect about half an hour once we arrive, in most cases.
Lastly, our technicians start the car. Before we go, it is tested to confirm it runs smoothly on fresh diesel. Permanent damage is very rare if it is noticed quickly, and the entire job is done where your car is. Payment is that day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. It is worth remembering: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your documents while you wait is worthwhile.
About Fonston itself
Fonston is a small locality in Cornwall, situated near the riverside and surrounded by rolling hills. Fonston has a population of around 527 people and is characterised by detached housing. Fonston is located near Canworthy Water, Warbstow, and Warbstow Cross, and is approximately 28 miles from Plymouth. Fonston sits at an elevation of 124 metres, in a rural part of the South West region.
AdBlue drains around Fonston, and across Cornwall too
Over PL postcodes, the vans covering Fonston — a small village — reach surrounding towns as well, Warbstow and Warbstow Cross among them. Your location comes clearest from a postcode that starts PL15 8.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Treglith Manor or in a car park in the middle of Fonston, it does not need to move. The van drains it in place. Guessing won't help beside Warbstow Bury, on a border or somewhere awkward to pin down; ring and check.
The one-line version
Unstarted? Leave the car off then ring. Whatever case applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Cornwall and within Fonston — once you stop, switch off then ring, if it's run.