AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Ham Common, and What to Do Next
One fact matters most once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is if the engine has run afterwards. Wherever the vehicle stands — Lodbourne, Ham Common — don't run a motor that has not been started yet. Keep nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, and count on a proper flush plus a drain, carried out just where your vehicle stands around Ham Common. Already started? Pull over once safe, then switch it off. A larger job, then, yet the identical first step.
Below: the cases our engineers meet, wherever across Dorset. Choose yours.
Ham Common forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Just at this point, bottle still in your hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. It could be the Shell, or perhaps the Esso, or another forecourt in Ham Common.
Put simply: no better spot exists to spot it. No pump has pulled it in, and so the AdBlue sits just in the tank.
Next: avoid the temptation to start it only to move away from the petrol pump. Phone us from the forecourt after the car sits in a space — the attendants will lend a hand to roll it — then keep the bottle. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, so a car that cannot be pushed clear gets cleared where it is at the pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Ham Common drive?
Days had gone by with the warning light on. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in your hand, did you look back at the cap you had used at the driveway. Right off Pheasant Way is no different from anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the base of your tank and remains put, no matter how long it waits.
Next: keys in the house, and so no one drives the vehicle off at breakfast. After that, phone. Ham or Ham Common: whichever your drive sits, that is where it is cleared. Late-night empties outside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
On the road around Ham Common with AdBlue in a diesel
A mile or two beyond topping up, your motor started playing up: rough running, smoke, less power, lights on your dash. Maybe heading to Salisbury, under 25 miles away, or just along Lakeside Drive.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked into the fuel system. Through the filter, through the lines, and — the more the distance — on into the high-pressure pump and each injector. More driving, more restarts: further it travels.
Do this: pull up somewhere safe, then turn the engine off. Ham Common sits under 50 miles from the M27; there, pull off at the next junction rather than pushing on to the services. Restarting it to check gets nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Phone us and say how far you travelled.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
A week back, the car was unknown to you. Your own car either does without AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, so nothing told you the AdBlue inlet was right next to the diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Dorset.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. Plenty of rental and company agreements require the owner's approval before repairs.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager first, us second, because settling it early saves time. If you are stuck in the car park outside Gillingham (Dorset), or by Gillingham Baptist Church, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
Ham Common: unsure whether it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest answer there is. Which cap came off, you cannot say; but the bottle feels lighter than expected, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by the filler. It might have been at a friend's drive in Cold Harbour, or rushing outside St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School on the school run.
The point: your engine is not hurt by a little AdBlue splashed on the outside. Inside your diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue harms it. Any AdBlue in that tank would be sucked in by turning on the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Take it that it went in, and never start the key. Checking a tank that proves free of AdBlue beats emptying one once it has been run — so ring and tell us what you saw.
What each AdBlue drain around Ham Common has in common
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Wherever the vehicle stands — Red Lion's car park, a street by Kings Court Palace, a driveway, a filling station — our van arrives and we ask about the fluid, the amount, and whether your engine has turned over. Those answers settle this work, and you hear our quote by phone, before anyone heads out.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it's essential, because crystals form and some metals corrode, and none of that rinses out unaided. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Where the engine hasn't run, allow roughly half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
Our engineers start the engine at the end. Before our technicians head off, it is checked to make sure it runs correctly on clean diesel. When it's spotted early, the vehicle very seldom has lasting damage, and the entire job happens where it is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Ham Common itself
Ham Common is a locality situated on the riverside in Dorset, with an elevation of 71 metres, and is located near the villages of Ham and Madjeston. Ham Common has a population of approximately 844 residents, who mostly live in semi-detached houses. Ham Common is close to the town of Gillingham and is about 20 miles from the city of Salisbury, while being around 98 miles from London.
AdBlue drains around Ham Common and across Dorset
Throughout SP postcodes, the vans serving Ham Common — a small village — reach nearby places too, Madjeston and Gillingham included. Fastest of all: a SP8 4 postcode for your location.
Parked heading to Ham Farm, or bang in the heart of Ham Common, your car stays put — there's no need to move it at all. Wherever it stands, that is where it is cleared. Awkward to pin down? By Riversmeet Leisure Centre or a county line? Checking is better than guessing, so phone.
Your scenario, in one line
Unstarted? Leave it that way then phone. Started already? Pull over, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whatever case, in Ham Common and Dorset, on 0333 366 0103.