AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Forest Farm: What Now?
One thing counts above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is if your engine has run since. Anywhere your car is — Tongwynlais, Forest Farm — never run an engine that hasn't run yet. Usually that is emptying and thoroughly cleaning it on the spot around Forest Farm — and so keep the ignition and engine off and phone 0333 366 0103. Where your motor has run, pull in safely straight away, then switch the vehicle off. Step one remains the same, even though the job is bigger.
Anywhere across Cardiff it took place, one of the situations below fits yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Forest Farm forecourt
Just now, nozzle yet in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the pump. Anywhere in Forest Farm, then — Asda, Esso, or anywhere else nearby.
The point: of all places to notice, this is the best. Still in that tank, with no fuel drawn onwards: that's where the AdBlue is.
What to do: do not get back in and crank it to clear the petrol pump. A few things: a push into a space with the staff assisting, the bottle kept, and a call to us from where you stand. If it cannot be moved, it can be cleared at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
At home around Forest Farm with AdBlue in your diesel tank
Days had gone by with the dash light on. A bottle from the shop, emptied in on the drive — and it's only by the recycling that the cap caught a second look. Houses just off Longwood Drive get caught out as often as anywhere else.
Meaning? Provided the car hasn't moved since, it's second to the forecourt case. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue drops to the floor of the tank and stays there, no matter how long the night.
Next: keys in the house, so no one takes your car anywhere first thing. Then, phone. In Radyr or here in Forest Farm, the draining is done on your driveway. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Forest Farm?
A mile or two beyond filling up, the engine started playing up: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on the dash. Maybe driving to Cardiff, under 5 miles away, or just along Forest Farm Road.
Meaning? The pump has sucked the AdBlue in. The injection pump and each injector see it as well on a bigger trip, after the filter and pipework have had it. More miles, more starts: deeper it travels.
Next: find a safe place, stop, and turn your engine off. Leave at the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M4, under a mile from Forest Farm. Do not restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Phone, and say how far your vehicle went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
A week back, it was new to you. Unbeknown to you, the two inlets sit next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has none or stores it elsewhere. Wherever you happen to be across Cardiff, every driver could slip up.
In short: an extra step on top of the situations above, which depend on whether it has run. Many rental and company contracts require the owner's sign-off before work.
Your move: hire firm or fleet manager to begin with, us second, because sorting it beforehand saves time. If you are stuck in the car park at Radyr, or by Hide, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank around Forest Farm?
Honestly, the best answer may be that you think so. Lighter, that bottle; a hint of ammonia near your filler; no clear memory of which cap. Look familiar? A hurried stop by the gates of the local primary school, or a call to a friend in Pantmawr: both fits.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no damage to your engine. In the diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue harms it. Starting your car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it will pull it in.
Take it that it went in, and don't turn the engine. Phone and give the details: we'd sooner confirm a clean tank than drain one once your engine has been run.
The common ground in every Forest Farm AdBlue drain
No matter the situation, one start applies. Three questions come once our technicians reach your car — at a forecourt, a driveway, a road beside Radyr Methodist Church or the car park outside The Hollybush Coryton: the fluid, the quantity, and if the motor has been started. Replies shape the job; the price follows by phone while no one has set off yet.
Then the tank is drained and the system flushed thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it does not rinse out on its own. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the car is tested. The majority of unstarted vehicles are a half-hour visit after the moment our engineers turn up.
The last step is firing it up. Our check that it runs correctly on fresh diesel comes before our engineers head off. We do the whole job where the vehicle is, and permanent damage is very uncommon if it has been spotted early. Paying comes on the day, never upfront. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Forest Farm itself
Forest Farm is a suburban area located on the riverside in Cardiff, with a mix of housing types but predominantly detached homes. Forest Farm sits at an elevation of 26 metres, close to the nearby communities of Radyr, Coryton, and Morganstown. Forest Farm is situated approximately 4.1 miles from Cardiff city centre, making it a popular residential area. Forest Farm has a population of around 2324 people, according to recent estimates.
AdBlue drains around Forest Farm, and across Cardiff too
Being a residential suburb, Forest Farm has the same vans as the nearby towns — Morganstown, Coryton — right across CF postcodes. Your location comes clearest from a postcode that starts CF14 7.
No moving is required, whether parked centrally in Forest Farm or on a layby heading to Forest Farm Country Park, so keep it put. Where it sits, that's where it is emptied. Tricky to explain? By Old Church Rooms or a county line? Asking beats assuming, so phone.
The one-line version
Motor not started: ring, and leave it alone. Run already: pull over, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Forest Farm or anywhere in Cardiff.