Preventing AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Needingworth: Why It Happens
AdBlue already in your diesel tank? Then put this page down a moment, keep the ignition and engine off, then phone 0333 366 0103. Caught before the motor runs, it's normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Needingworth. The remainder of this page covers why it occurs and how to ensure it does not — useful if you are reading before it has happened.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel vehicle need its own filler?
Diesel feeds your motor — yet many current diesels driven about Needingworth and Wood End hold another fluid too. Stored in a tank of its own, AdBlue is fed into the exhaust gas and cleans it.
Every tank has one filler of its own. On a lot of vehicles the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in the boot or under the bonnet. Topping up the diesel side at the petrol pump happens constantly. Much less frequently, the AdBlue side is topped up — mostly from a bottle, by someone thinking about where it goes. The mistake grows in that gap between them.
AdBlue in the diesel tank around Needingworth: how it occurs
Carelessness seldom explains it. Instead is three things lining up together.
To start with, the warning. Low AdBlue brings a warning from the vehicle, and running dry means limp mode — so a rushed top-up, maybe before work off Church Street, or outside Queens Head on the way home after work.
The old car's filler is where the hand reaches — yet a rental car, a new car or a company car keeps the fillers somewhere else. That is the second thing: an unfamiliar car.
No part stops the pour once it has started, because a bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one. The bottle fits. Holywell or the heart of Needingworth: it takes the same few seconds in both.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Before you tip anything, whether on a drive in Fen Drayton or a forecourt in Needingworth, check these. They take a couple of seconds.
- Where it sits misleads; the cap doesn't. AdBlue ones are often blue or carry the name "AdBlue" — diesel ones normally do not.
- On many vehicles, the size tells: AdBlue has the smaller filler neck.
- The flap. Look inside your fuel flap for a label. Many vehicles say there which fuel goes where.
- The handbook shows which it is if your filler is not next to your diesel cap: your boot, or under the bonnet.
- The person who drove the vehicle last. On a hire or company car collected from somewhere like the car park outside Huntingdon, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
Keeping AdBlue out of the diesel tank when you top up
Wherever around Cambridgeshire the light comes on, here is a routine for the day.
- Stop somewhere level, engine off, with time in hand — not hurried on the side of Priory Road.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, after finding the AdBlue filler and reading it. Daft, yes, but it does the trick.
- If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — then leave the vehicle on.
- Using the bottle's own spout, tip slowly — and stop when it is full or the bottle is empty.
- Before starting the car, shut the cap and look a second time that the diesel cap was never opened off.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Never go on to step five.
Already put AdBlue in your diesel tank in Needingworth?
Then the order of things is short. Do not start the motor. The fuel pump starts on many diesels the moment your ignition is switched on — and so leave it off. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of that tank, where the fuel is pulled from — so do not top up with diesel to dilute it.
Ask the staff to help roll the car clear of the petrol pump if you are on a forecourt — the Morrisons, the BP or somewhere else. Your own driveway in Needingworth is the place it should stay.
When your engine has run already, pull over safely then turn the vehicle off. Come off the M11 — under 10 miles out of Needingworth — at the first exit. Roughly how far did it go? Hopping across Needingworth is smaller a job than a trip of under 15 miles to Cambridge, and so tell us.
What occurs when our technicians turn up around Needingworth
Anywhere the vehicle has stopped, be it outside Holywell CofE Primary School, near War Memorial or at home, our van comes to it. Which fluid was put in, the amount, and if it ran: our engineers ask because those replies set the work and quote. No one heads out until you have heard our price over the phone.
Your system is then rinsed thoroughly, after that tank is drained. More than with petrol, it matters here: the crystals build up, certain metals are attacked, and nothing washes out unaided, no matter how long it is left. Once the fuel filter is cleaned — or replaced, where required — fresh diesel is added, and finally the car is tested. The motor is fired up next and tested to be sure it runs correctly, all before our technicians leave.
Unstarted cars usually mean a half-hour visit from the moment we arrive. The kit is fine on a busy filling station, and hushed enough for a driveway late at night. The insurer will ask for the engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and you get both once this job is done. Payment comes on the day, with no money upfront. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Needingworth and where it is
Needingworth is a village in Cambridgeshire, situated near the River Great Ouse and approximately 10 miles from Cambridge. Needingworth sits in a low-lying area, with an elevation of around 15 metres, and is characterized by its detached housing stock. Needingworth is close to other villages such as Holywell and St Ives, and is about an hour's drive from London. Needingworth has a population of around 1411 residents.
AdBlue drains round Needingworth, and Cambridgeshire beyond
Needingworth is a rural village, and the vans that cover it also work the towns around it, St Ives and Over among them, across the PE postcode area. A postcode starting PE27 4 gets the van to you fastest.
The car doesn't need to move. The drain happens right there, be it a drive, a road by Needingworth Village Hall, or a lay-by towards Millfields Recreation Ground. Ring and ask instead of guessing if you are close to a boundary, or somewhere hard to explain, like the back of Providence Baptist Chapel.
The short version for Needingworth people
Always, the cap; after that, the tip. If AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank all the same, leave it off and call 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel clears it where it stands, anywhere around Cambridgeshire.