AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Littleport, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether the motor has been run since it went in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is in Littleport itself or out in Chettisham. Leave your engine and the ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is in Littleport. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Anywhere around Cambridgeshire it took place, one of the cases below fits yours.
Littleport forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only notice it while you are standing at the pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. Whether BP, Chettisham Garage or anywhere else around Littleport, the case is identical.
In short: no better place exists to discover it. No pump has pulled it through, so the AdBlue sits only in that tank.
Freeing the pump is no excuse to run it — and so do not get back in. Three things: a shove into a space with the staff assisting, the bottle saved, and a call to us from the forecourt. Draining it there at the pump is possible if it can't be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Littleport
For days the dashboard had been warning you. A bottle bought at the garage, emptied in at the drive — and it was just by the recycling that the cap caught your eye. Just off Main Street is not different from any other place.
The upshot: zero miles since makes it almost as good to finding it at the petrol pump. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue settles to the base of your tank and stays put, however long the night.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the car in the morning. Then ring. Second Drove or Littleport: wherever your drive is, that is where it gets emptied. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Littleport?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe heading for Ely, under 5 miles away, or just along High Street.
The point: your system has pulled AdBlue in already. Mileage sets how deep it gets: filter and pipework to begin with, then the injection pump and every injector. Each restart, like every mile, pushes it deeper.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so then switch off. Leave by the first junction — not the services further along — if you are on the M11, under 25 miles from Littleport. No trial restarts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue does. Tell us hear the distance driven when you ring.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
You've had the vehicle barely a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or somewhere else. On this one, the inlet is right next to your diesel inlet — news to you. Anyone, anywhere in Cambridgeshire, might do the same.
Meaning? Whichever applies above applies too — run or not — and one extra step. The owner frequently has to approve the work, under plenty of hire and fleet agreements.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before our engineers turn up than after. If you are stranded in the car park outside the nearest station, or by St John's Methodist Church, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Littleport?
At times the fair answer is "I think so". A faint ammonia whiff hangs near your filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. Maybe at a friend's driveway in Dunkirk, or rushing by Littleport Community Primary School at the school run.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no harm to the motor. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different matter. If there is AdBlue in your tank, firing up the vehicle will draw it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Next: act as though it got in, and keep your motor off. Ring and give what you saw: we'd sooner find a clean tank than empty one once your motor has run.
Littleport: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whatever the situation, a single opening applies. Three things come once our technicians reach the car — on a filling station, a driveway, a road beside Adams Heritage Centre or the car park outside The Crown Inn: the liquid, the amount, and if it has been started. The price comes over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and the answers set the job.
Then your tank is emptied and your system cleaned thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not rinse out on its own. Fresh diesel is put in after the filter is cleaned or replaced, and the car is finally checked. Where the motor hasn't been started, allow roughly half an hour once we arrive, in most jobs.
We fire it up at the end. We make sure it runs smoothly on new diesel before we leave. The entire job is done where your car is, and if it's caught quickly, long-term damage is very unusual. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. It is worth knowing: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy as you wait is worthwhile.
About Littleport and where it is
Littleport is a village in Cambridgeshire, situated near the city of Ely and surrounded by nearby places such as Second Drove, Westlands, and Black Bank. Littleport lies in a low-lying area, with an elevation of around 10 metres, and is characterized by its semi-detached housing. Littleport is located approximately 68 miles from London, making it a rural community with easy access to the capital. Littleport remains a small, predominantly residential village with a population of around 2813 people.
AdBlue drains across Cambridgeshire, Littleport included
Over CB postcodes, the vans serving Littleport — a rural village — work nearby towns as well, Westlands and Black Bank included. A postcode starting CB6 1 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Stopped heading to Parsons Lane Park, or right in the heart of Littleport, your vehicle remains put — there's no need to shift it anywhere. Draining is done on the spot. Guessing won't help beside The Vine Community Church, on a border or anywhere hard to describe; ring and check.
In one line: your situation
Where it hasn't run, ring and keep it off. Run by now: stop, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, within Littleport or anywhere across Cambridgeshire.