AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Quarter: What Now?
Everything hinges on one detail: whether the motor has been run since the AdBlue was added — far more than anything else. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is in Quarter itself or out in Low Waters. Normally this means emptying and properly rinsing it on the spot in Quarter — so leave the key and engine off and call 0333 366 0103. Pull over the minute it is safe and turn off, if it has been run. A bigger job, then, but the identical first step.
Compare what happened to a situation from the list below, wherever in South Lanarkshire you are.
Quarter forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You are at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. It might be the Esso, or the Asda, or a different forecourt in Quarter.
Meaning? Finding out here is as good as it can be. Only the tank has AdBlue; no component past it has taken any in.
What to do: do not get back in and crank it to clear the pump. Ask the staff to help you push the vehicle into a parking bay, keep your receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. If it can't be moved, it can be drained at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Quarter
Days had passed with the warning light on. Only at the recycling bin, the empty bottle in hand, did you look back at the cap you'd used at the drive. It takes place on drives just off Darngaber Road as regularly as anywhere.
In short: if the vehicle hasn't moved since, it is nearly as good as finding out at the pump. Being reluctant to blend, AdBlue drops low in your tank and stays. A night parked changes nothing.
Put the keys indoors overnight — or a person might take it away at breakfast — then call us. In Limekilnburn or here around Quarter, the draining happens on your drive. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
On the road in Quarter with AdBlue in a diesel
Topped up, pulled away, and before long your engine was turning roughly, blowing smoke, losing power, or flashing up your dash. It might have been driving for Glasgow, under 15 miles away, or simply down Limekilnburn Road.
The upshot: the system has drawn AdBlue in by now. The injection pump and every injector see it as well on a bigger run, after your filter and lines have had it. More miles, more starts: further it travels.
What to do: pull over where it is safe to do so and switch off. Leave at the first junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M74, under 3 miles from Quarter. Do not restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Phone, and say what distance your car went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
You've only had this car a week. Your own motor either does without AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere, so nothing told you the AdBlue inlet was right beside the diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around South Lanarkshire.
The upshot: exactly as above, split by whether it ran, but with one added stage. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's faster settled before our engineers get there than after. Stranded near Quarter Colliery Disaster Memorial or outside Chatelherault until the firm answers, the vehicle remains switched off throughout.
Quarter: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
"I think so" is often as honest answer there is. A faint ammonia-like whiff lingers near the filler, the bottle feels too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. The gates of the local primary school in a hurry, say, or someone's driveway over in Meikle Earnock.
What it means: a little spilled round your filler does no harm to your motor. If it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. If there is AdBlue in that tank, starting the car will suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Do this: behave as if it did, and don't start your engine. Ring us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in every Quarter AdBlue drain
No matter the case, one start applies. Anywhere your car is — the pub in the village's car park, a street by Darngaber Castle, Motte, a drive, a forecourt — our van arrives and asks for the liquid, the quantity, and if your engine has been run. Those replies determine the work, and you get the price on the phone, before anybody sets off.
Draining your tank comes first, then a full flush — more vital after urea than after petrol, because crystals and corrosion will not clear by themselves, however long you wait. Then comes your filter — flushed, or swapped where needed — followed by clean diesel, and a test of the vehicle. Never started? Then about half an hour on site covers most jobs.
Lastly, our technicians start the engine. With clean diesel in, it runs while our engineers make sure it's running properly, and then we head off. Our engineers do the whole job where the car is, and long-term damage is very uncommon if it has been spotted quickly. Paying is on the day, never upfront. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Quarter and where it is
Quarter is a village in South Lanarkshire, situated on the riverside at an elevation of 161 metres, with detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Quarter lies near the larger city of Glasgow, approximately 11.7 miles away, and is close to smaller settlements such as Limekilnburn and Eddlewood. Quarter has a population of around 715 residents and is located in a scenic area with nearby Cadzow. Quarter is positioned in a rural setting, yet is still within commuting distance to Glasgow.
AdBlue drains around Quarter and across South Lanarkshire
Throughout ML postcodes, the vans serving Quarter — a village — work nearby places as well, Eddlewood and Cadzow among them. A postcode starting ML3 7 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Knowetop Wood or in a car park in the middle of Quarter, it does not need to shift. The van drains it in place. Assuming doesn't help beside Eddlewood Public Hall, on a county line or anywhere awkward to describe; ring and check.
Your situation, in one line
Unstarted? Leave the vehicle that way then phone. Whatever line fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, throughout South Lanarkshire and in Quarter — once you pull over, switch off then phone, if it has run.