AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Kelsale, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the motor has run since it went in. Over in North Green or right in Kelsale, an unstarted engine should remain that way. Switch nothing on, call 0333 366 0103, and expect a thorough flush plus a drain, done right where the car stands in Kelsale. When the motor has run, pull in safely straight away, then switch the car off. Step one remains the same, even if the job is bigger.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever around Suffolk it happened.
At the pump in Kelsale: AdBlue in a diesel
Only now, nozzle yet in your hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Perhaps you're at the Samkins, perhaps at the JET, perhaps somewhere else around Kelsale.
Put simply: no better spot exists to discover it. Nothing has pulled it in, so the AdBlue sits just inside that tank.
Next: resist the urge to start it just to move away from the petrol pump. Have the attendants to lend a hand rolling it to a space, hold on to the receipt, then ring us from there. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, so a car that cannot be pushed away is cleared where it is at the petrol pump.
Kelsale, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
Several days had passed with the dash light on. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. Just off Bridge Street is not less likely from anywhere.
Meaning? As long as your car hasn't been driven since, it's close to the forecourt case. Being unable to blend, AdBlue settles to the base in the tank and stays. One night parked alters none of that.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the vehicle in the morning. Then call. Our engineers drain the vehicle on your driveway, whether that's in Kelsale or out in Carlton. Even at night, our pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel around Kelsale?
A mile or two after topping up, the engine started misbehaving: roughness, smoke, less power, warnings on your dash. Possibly it was on Rosemary Lane, possibly on the way out towards Norwich, under 50 miles away.
The upshot: your system has drawn AdBlue in by now. It has been through the filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors. Every restart, like each mile, carries it deeper.
Next: pick a safe place, stop, and turn your motor off. On the M11, over 50 miles from Kelsale, that means the next exit, not the services further on. Restarting it to test gets nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Call us and say how far you drove.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've only driven this car for days. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers sit next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has none or keeps it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Suffolk.
Meaning? Whatever applies above counts too — run or unrun — plus one further stage. Plenty of rental and company contracts need the owner's sign-off before repairs.
Settling it before we arrives is quicker, so ring the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. If you are stuck in the car park outside Saxmundham, or by Kelsale cum Carlton Village Sign, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Kelsale?
Truthfully, the best answer might be that you think it did. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia around the filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. A hurried top-up by the gates of Kelsale Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, or a call to a friend in Saxmundham: either fits.
The point: the motor is not hurt by a little AdBlue spilled on the outside. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. You cannot tell which by turning the key, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Take it that it got in, and never turn your key. Checking a tank that proves free of AdBlue is better than draining one after it has been run — so ring then tell us what you noticed.
What every AdBlue drain in Kelsale has in common
No matter the situation, one opening is used. Our engineers come to the car, whether it's at a forecourt, a drive, the car park at Poachers Pocket or a side street close to Kelsale Village Hall, and ask three things: what was put in, about how much, and if your motor has run. Those answers determine the work, and you hear our price on the phone, before anybody sets off.
Then that tank is drained and your system rinsed 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 doesn't rinse out on its own. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Where the engine hasn't run, allow about half an hour on site, for most jobs.
The last step is starting the engine. Before our engineers leave, it is tested to make sure it runs correctly on fresh diesel. Our technicians do the whole job where the vehicle is, and permanent damage is very unusual if it has been caught quickly. Paying comes on the day, never upfront. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. It is worth knowing: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your documents as you wait pays.
About Kelsale, briefly
Kelsale is a small village in Suffolk, situated on the banks of a river at an elevation of around 21 metres. Kelsale lies near the villages of Carlton and Curlew Green, and is also close to Dorleys Corner. Kelsale has a population of approximately 645 people, predominantly living in detached houses. Kelsale is located about 28 miles from Norwich and around 85 miles from London.
AdBlue drains across Suffolk, Kelsale included
Over IP postcodes, the vans serving Kelsale — a village — work surrounding towns too, Dorleys Corner and Curlew Green included. Quickest of all: a IP17 2 postcode for where you stand.
Centre of Kelsale or a layby near Gardener's Belt: either way it sits, your vehicle doesn't need to shift an inch for us. Our technicians drain the vehicle where it sits. Tricky to explain? Close to Kelsale Methodist Church or a county line? Checking beats guessing, and so phone.
The one-line version
Still unrun? Leave the vehicle off and ring. Started already? Pull over, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whichever case, across Kelsale and Suffolk, on 0333 366 0103.