What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Houghton Conquest
All of that turns on one fact: if the engine has started after the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. Not run so far? Then leave it that way, whether the car is — Houghton Conquest or Stewartby. Leave the engine and the ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is in Houghton Conquest. Already started? Stop once safe, then switch everything off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Compare your case to a situation from the list below, anywhere across Bedfordshire you happen to be.
Houghton Conquest forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only notice it as you're standing at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. It could be the BP, or perhaps the Murco, or a different station in Houghton Conquest.
What it means: this is the best location to find out. No pump has pulled it through, so the AdBlue sits just in your tank.
Next: avoid the temptation to fire it up only to free up the petrol pump. Phone us from the forecourt after your vehicle is in a space — the attendants will lend a hand to push it — and keep the bottle. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a live forecourt, and so a car that cannot be pushed clear is drained right at the pump.
At home around Houghton Conquest with AdBlue in the diesel tank
Days had gone by with the warning light on. A bottle bought at the garage, tipped in on the drive — and it was only at the recycling that the cap caught a second look. Homes just off Victoria Drive are caught out as often as anywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the floor of that tank and remains there, no matter how long it waits.
Your move: the keys in the house, and so no one drives the car anywhere at breakfast. Then, ring. Your drive is where it is drained, whether in Houghton Conquest or Chapel End. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in Houghton Conquest?
A mile or two after filling up, the motor started misbehaving: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on the dash. Perhaps it was on Ridge View, perhaps on the way out towards Milton Keynes, under 15 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked into the fuel system. It's been through the fuel filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and your injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
What to do: pull over where it is safe then switch off. Houghton Conquest lies under 5 miles from the M1; on it, pull off at the first junction rather than pressing on to the services. Restarting it to check gets nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Roughly how far had it go? Tell us when you call.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have just had this car for days. Your own motor either has no AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, and so no one warned you the AdBlue cap sits just next to your diesel. Anywhere you happen to be in Bedfordshire, any driver can be caught.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. Any work on the car frequently requires the owner's approval under rental or company agreements.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before our technicians get there than after. Stranded by All Saints or at Stewartby till someone replies, your vehicle remains turned off throughout.
Houghton Conquest: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Truthfully, the best answer may be that you think so. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia round your filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. The gates of Houghton Conquest Lower School in a hurry, perhaps, or a friend's driveway out in Wilstead.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no harm to your engine. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. If there is AdBlue in that tank, firing up the car would pull it in, and it would not tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Don't fire it up. Ring with what you saw: we would sooner confirm a clean tank than empty one once your motor has been run.
Houghton Conquest: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Whatever the case, one opening applies. We come to the vehicle, whether it's at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside Royal Oak or a side street close to No Nuclear Dumping, and ask three things: what got in, about how much, and whether your motor has been run. Over the phone, ahead of anything else, you hear our quote, and those replies shape the job too.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it's essential, because crystals form and certain metals corrode, and neither washes away unaided. Clean diesel is put in after the fuel filter has been cleaned or replaced, and the car is then tested. Never started? In that case roughly half an hour on site is most jobs.
Firing it up comes at the end. Our check that it runs properly on fresh diesel comes before our engineers go. The entire job is done where the vehicle is, and if it's noticed quickly, lasting damage is very unusual. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Worth knowing: lots of insurers include misfuelling cover, so a check of your documents as we travel is worthwhile.
About Houghton Conquest
Houghton Conquest is a village in Bedfordshire, situated in a low-lying area of the county at an elevation of around 50 metres. Houghton Conquest lies approximately 41 miles north of London and 12 miles southeast of Milton Keynes, near the smaller settlements of Chapel End and How End. Houghton Conquest has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are particularly prevalent in the village.
Houghton Conquest and Bedfordshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Being a rural village, Houghton Conquest shares its vans with the nearby towns — Haynes West End, How End — right through MK postcodes. Telling us your MK45 3 postcode finds you quickest of all.
No moving is needed, whether stopped centrally in Houghton Conquest or in a layby heading to Conquest Wood, so leave it put. The van drains it where it stands. Assuming doesn't help beside Houghton House, close to a border or somewhere hard to describe; ring and ask.
Your situation, summed up
Still unrun? Leave it that way and phone. Whatever line fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, throughout Bedfordshire and within Houghton Conquest — after you pull over, turn off and phone, if it has run.