AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Ridgacre: What Now?
Everything turns on one detail: whether your engine has been run after the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. Over in Lapal or right in Ridgacre, an unrun motor must remain unrun. Normally that is emptying and thoroughly cleaning it on the spot in Ridgacre — so leave your ignition and engine off then phone 0333 366 0103. Stop the minute it is safe and switch off, if it has already run. It is a larger job, though stage one does not change.
Compare what happened to one of the list below, wherever in West Midlands you happen to be.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Ridgacre forecourt
Picture it: stood by the pump, gripping the nozzle, you realise the cap you took off wasn't the correct one. It could be the Applegreen, or the Texaco, or a different station in Ridgacre.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is the best it gets. Just that tank has AdBlue; no component beyond it has drawn any in.
What to do: don't get back in and start the car to clear the petrol pump. Three things: a shove into a bay with the attendants helping, the receipt kept, and a ring to us from where you stand. If it can't be moved, it can be emptied at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
At home around Ridgacre with AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dash had been warning you. A bottle from the shop, tipped in on the drive — and it was only at the recycling that the cap caught your eye. Houses just off Ridgacre Road get caught out as often as everywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. At the floor of your tank is where AdBlue stays, since it won't blend with diesel — and a night passing changes no difference.
Put your keys in the house overnight — otherwise a person might drive it away first thing — then phone us. Beech Lanes or Ridgacre: wherever your drive sits, that's where it is drained. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Ridgacre?
Topped up, drove away, and soon your motor was running roughly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up the dash. Glyn Farm Road, say, or the route towards Birmingham — a trip of under 5 miles.
What it means: your fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. Mileage decides how far it goes: filter and pipework to begin with, then the injection pump and every injector. Every restart, like each mile, carries it on.
Do this: pull up somewhere sensible, then turn the engine off. Ridgacre sits under a mile from the M5; on it, come off at the first junction instead of pushing on for the services. No test starts: clearing is not something AdBlue will do. About what distance had it gone? Tell us as you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have just had the car for days. Your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, and so nothing warned you the AdBlue inlet was just beside the diesel. Throughout West Midlands, nobody is safe from it.
Meaning? Whatever case above applies here — run or unrun — and one further stage. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager first, us next, since sorting it early saves time. Leave the car switched off while the answer comes, even if you are parked at Rowley Regis or close to Quinton Evangelical Free Church.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, in Ridgacre
"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 around the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. A hurried stop by the gates of Lift Four Dwellings Primary, or a call to a friend in Woodgate: both fits.
Meaning? Drips around the inlet never reach the motor at all. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in the tank will be sucked in by firing up the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Next: assume it got in, and keep the engine off. Describe what you noticed on the phone. A clean tank checked is a happier outcome than an already-run one drained.
What every AdBlue drain around Ridgacre has in common
The work begins identically, whichever your case. Forecourt, driveway, The Amber Tavern's car park or a road by Our Lady of Fatima — the van reaches the vehicle, and three answers follow: what fluid, which amount, and if it has run. The price is given on the call, before a van leaves, and those answers set the job.
AdBlue forms crystals and eats at certain metals in fuel systems, and so it won't rinse out on its own; that's why the flush, after the drain, matters much more with AdBlue than with petrol. Next is the filter — flushed, or replaced where necessary — followed by clean diesel, and a test of your car. Most unrun cars are a half-hour visit after the moment our engineers arrive.
Our technicians fire it up at the end. Our test that it runs properly on fresh diesel comes before we head off. When it's spotted quickly, the car very rarely has lasting damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling, so look at yours while the van travels.
About Ridgacre
Ridgacre is a suburban area located in the West Midlands, approximately 4.2 miles from Birmingham city centre. Ridgacre sits at an elevation of 192 metres, surrounded by other residential areas such as Beech Lanes and Brandhall. Ridgacre is characterised by its predominantly semi-detached housing stock, typical of many suburban areas in the region. Ridgacre is also close to Warley Woods, a nearby area of woodland and parkland.
Ridgacre and West Midlands: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout B postcodes, the teams covering Ridgacre — a residential suburb — reach nearby towns as well, Brandhall and Warley Woods included. Telling us your B32 1 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Stopped en route to Highfield Farm Recreation Ground, or bang in the heart of Ridgacre, the car remains where it is — there's no need to move it at all. The van drains it in place. Ring and ask instead of guessing if you are close to Ridgacre Methodist Church, near a boundary, or anywhere awkward to pin down.
Your scenario, in one line
Not run yet: keep the car off then call. Started already? Stop, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whatever case, in Ridgacre and West Midlands, on 0333 366 0103.