AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Little London: What Now?
One thing matters above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is if the motor has run afterwards. Out in Peas Hill or right in Little London, an unrun motor should stay that way. Usually that means emptying and thoroughly cleaning it right there around Little London — and so leave your ignition and motor off and call 0333 366 0103. Where the engine has been run, pull in safely straight away, then turn it off. It is a larger job, yet step one does not change.
Anywhere in Cambridgeshire it took place, one of the situations below fits yours.
Little London forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just notice it as you're standing at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. Perhaps you're at the BP, maybe at the Station Road Garage, maybe somewhere else around Little London.
Meaning? Spotting it here is the best it gets. Still inside that tank, with no fuel drawn through: that is where the AdBlue sits.
Next: resist the urge to fire it up 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 phone us from there. If it cannot be shifted, it can be emptied at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home around Little London
The warning light had been on for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look a second time at the cap. Houses just off Ravenhill Drive are hit as often as everywhere else.
The upshot: zero driving since makes this nearly as good to spotting it at the pump. At the floor of the tank sits where AdBlue waits, because it will not blend with diesel — and a night passing changes no difference.
Next: prevent any early drive by keeping your keys indoors, then ring us. Your driveway is where it gets drained, whether around Little London or March. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
Little London: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Perhaps it was on The Chase, maybe on the way out towards Ely, under 15 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled through the fuel system. Past your filter, along the pipework, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the injection pump and each injector. It goes further with each extra mile covered and every restart.
Pull in somewhere safe — that's the next step — then switch everything off. Little London lies under 25 miles from the A1(M); on it, pull off at the first junction rather than pressing on to the services. Don't restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Ring us and say how far you drove.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It is a car you have had for a week. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets sit side by side here — not like your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or stores it elsewhere. Anyone, anywhere around Cambridgeshire, could make the same.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. Work on your vehicle often needs the owner's go-ahead under hire or company agreements.
Sorting it before we turn up is quicker, and so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, then us. Leave the car switched off as the reply arrives, even if you're waiting at March or close to Providence Baptist Chapel.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Little London?
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest answer there is. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia about your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. A hurried top-up by the gates of Burrowmoor Primary Academy, or a call to a friend in Norwoodside: both fits.
What it means: a little spilled around the filler does no harm to your motor. In your diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Next: act as though it went in, then keep the motor off. Inspecting a tank that turns out clean beats draining one once it has been run — so phone and tell us what you saw.
The common ground in each Little London AdBlue drain
Every case gets the same start to the job. Forecourt, driveway, The Acre's car park or a road beside Centenary Baptist Church — the van reaches your car, and three answers follow: which fluid, which amount, and whether it has run. Those replies determine the work, and you hear the quote on the phone, before anybody heads out.
Then your tank is drained and the 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, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Last are your filter, cleaned or replaced if necessary; fresh diesel; and a test of the car. Where the engine hasn't run, expect about half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
Lastly, our engineers start the car. Before our technicians leave, it is tested to be sure it runs properly on new diesel. The whole job is done where your car is, and when it is noticed soon, 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 remembering: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your documents while you wait is worthwhile.
About Little London and where it is
Little London is a suburban area in Cambridgeshire, situated on the riverside with an elevation of around 4 metres. Little London lies near the city of Ely, approximately 12.7 miles away, and is also close to other nearby places such as March, Badgeney, and Town End. Little London has a population of around 5877 people and is characterised by predominantly detached housing.
AdBlue drains across Cambridgeshire, Little London included
Badgeney and Town End have the identical teams as Little London, a residential suburb, plus other towns over PE postcodes. The whereabouts comes clearest from a postcode beginning PE15 9.
Central Little London or a layby towards West End Park: wherever it is, the car doesn't need to move an inch for the drain. Where it stands, that's where it gets drained. Assuming won't help near March & District Museum, close to a border or anywhere awkward to describe; ring and ask.
Your situation, in one line
Not run yet: keep it off and call. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Little London and anywhere in Cambridgeshire on 0333 366 0103.