What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Newbuildings
Has your engine turned over since the AdBlue went in? This one point settles almost everything else from here. Anywhere your vehicle stands — Derry, Newbuildings — never start a motor that hasn't been started yet. Leave your motor and the ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is in Newbuildings. When your engine has run, stop somewhere safe first, then turn the vehicle off. It is a larger job, yet step one doesn't change.
Further down: the situations our engineers meet, wherever in County Londonderry. Pick the one that fits.
Newbuildings forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only notice it while you're stood at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. Somewhere in Newbuildings, then — the nearest petrol station, another forecourt nearby, or somewhere else nearby.
The upshot: of every spot to find out, the forecourt is the best. No pump has pulled it in, and so the AdBlue sits only in your tank.
Next: resist the temptation to fire it up only to free up the pump. Ask the attendants to help you push your car into a parking spot, keep the till receipt or the bottle, and call us from the forecourt. Emptying it there at the pump is fine when it cannot be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home around Newbuildings with AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. A bottle from the garage, tipped in at the drive — and it's only by the bin that the cap caught your eye. Houses just off Crom Street get caught out as much as everywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Keep your keys indoors tonight — otherwise someone may take it off at breakfast — and phone us. Our technicians drain the car on your driveway, whether that's around Newbuildings or out in Nixons Corner. Night-time drains beside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Newbuildings?
Filled up, pulled away, and soon your motor was running roughly, smoking, down on power, or lighting up the dash. Anywhere along Rock Street or else on the road towards Derry — under 5 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked into the system. Mileage sets how deep it gets: filter and pipework to begin with, then the injection pump and each injector. It goes deeper with each extra mile driven and every restart.
What to do: pull over where it is safe and switch off. Newbuildings sits over 50 miles from the M77; there, pull off at the first junction rather than pressing on to the services. It will not have cleared, and so there is no point restarting to check. Roughly how far had it gone? Tell us when you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've had this car barely a week. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel filler, which you did not know, because your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in County Londonderry.
The point: just as above, divided by whether it ran, only with one added stage. Many hire and fleet contracts need the owner's sign-off before repairs.
Do this: rental firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us second, since settling it early saves time. Hanging on for a reply in the car park outside the nearest station, or near the centre? Keep your engine off meanwhile.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Newbuildings?
Occasionally the fair answer is "I think so". Lighter, the bottle; a hint of ammonia near your filler; no clear memory of the cap. Look familiar? Maybe at a friend's drive in Bready, or rushing by the local primary school on the school run.
The upshot: the motor is not harmed by a little AdBlue spilled around the filler. A diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different story. You cannot tell which by turning the key, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Next: act as though it got in, then keep the engine off. Describe what you noticed on the phone. A clean tank checked counts as a happier outcome than a run one drained.
The common ground in every Newbuildings AdBlue drain
Every situation has the same opening to the job. Filling station, drive, the pub in the village's car park or a street by a street just off the centre — our van reaches the car, and three questions follow: which fluid, which amount, and whether it has run. Those answers decide the work, and you hear our quote by phone, before anybody heads out.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to certain metals in fuel systems, and so it won't wash out on its own; that is why the flush, after the drain, matters far more here than with petrol. Then is the fuel filter — flushed, or swapped where needed — then clean diesel, and a test of your car. Not started? Then about half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
Firing it up comes last. Before our technicians head off, it is tested to make sure it runs properly on clean diesel. Long-term damage is very uncommon when it's spotted early, and the entire job is done where the vehicle is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies cover misfuelling, so look at yours as we head over.
About Newbuildings and where it is
Newbuildings is a locality situated inland in County Londonderry, approximately 3.2 miles from Derry. Newbuildings has a relatively low elevation of 27 metres and is characterised by terraced housing. Newbuildings is close to nearby places such as Nixons Corner, Magheramason, and Ardmore, and is home to a population of around 1812 people.
AdBlue drains around Newbuildings, and across County Londonderry too
Newbuildings is a small village, and the same teams that cover it work the towns around it too, Magheramason and Ardmore among them, across the BT postcode area. The whereabouts is quickest from a postcode beginning BT47 2.
No moving is needed, whether parked centrally in Newbuildings or in a layby en route to the green space at the edge of the village, and so leave it put. Our van empties it in place. If you're somewhere hard to explain, close to the far end of the built-up part or close to a border, ring and ask instead of guessing.
Your situation, summed up
Where it has not run, phone then keep it off. Run already: pull over, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, within Newbuildings or wherever in County Londonderry.