AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Rigside, and What to Do Next
Has your engine run since the AdBlue was put in? This single point decides nearly everything else from here. Anywhere your vehicle stands — Douglas, Rigside — never run an engine that hasn't run yet. Phone 0333 366 0103 with the key and engine still off. In Rigside, such a case is generally drained and flushed on the spot. When your motor has run, stop safely straight away, then switch the car off. The job is bigger, yet the first step is the same.
Below: the cases we see, anywhere across South Lanarkshire. Choose yours.
At the petrol pump around Rigside: AdBlue in a diesel
Just now, bottle yet in your hand, it dawns on you that the cap you opened was the wrong one, there at the petrol pump. It could be the Shell, or perhaps the Thames, or another station in Rigside.
What it means: this is the best spot to find out. Still inside your tank, with no fuel drawn through: that is where the AdBlue sits.
Next: resist the urge to start it just to move away from the petrol pump. Three things: a shove into a bay with the staff assisting, the bottle kept, and a ring to us from where you stand. The equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, and so a car that can't be pushed clear gets cleared right at the petrol pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Rigside
Several days had passed with the warning light on. Bought a bottle, poured it in outside the house, binned the empty — and at that point checked the cap a second time, too late. Just off Craiglea Street is no less likely from any other place.
The point: zero miles since leaves it almost as good to spotting it at the petrol pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves the car in the morning. Then call. We drain the car on your driveway, whether that's in Rigside or out in Douglas Water. Late-night drains beside a house are fine: the pumps are quiet.
Rigside: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Topped up, pulled away, and soon the engine was turning roughly, smoking, down on power, or lighting up the dash. Douglasdale Street, say, or the route to Glasgow — a trip of under 50 miles.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled through the system. It has been through your filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the injectors. It goes further with every mile covered and every restart.
Next: pick a safe spot, pull in, then turn your engine off. On the M74, under 3 miles from Rigside, that means the next exit, not the services further on. It will not have cleared, and so there's no sense restarting to find out. About what distance had it gone? Tell us when you call.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've had this car barely a week. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel filler, which you did not know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Across South Lanarkshire, nobody is immune.
The point: exactly as above, split by if it ran, but with an added stage. The owner frequently has to sign off the work, under many rental and company contracts.
Settling it before we turn up is quicker, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. Waiting for a reply in the car park at Lanark, or beside Mining Memorial? Keep your car off throughout.
Rigside: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Sometimes the honest answer is "I think so". What cap was taken off, you can't recall; meanwhile the bottle feels less than expected, and ammonia lingers by the filler. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at the local primary school, or on a friend's drive in Devonburn.
In short: spillage round your filler does your engine no harm. In the diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. You cannot tell which by turning the key, and doing so would suck in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't crank it. Inspecting a tank that turns out free of AdBlue beats emptying one after it's been run — so ring then describe to us what you noticed.
The common ground in every Rigside AdBlue drain
The work begins identically, whichever your case. Three things are asked once we arrive — at a filling station, a driveway, a road by Douglas Castle or the car park outside the pub in the village: the fluid, the amount, and whether the motor has been started. Answers shape the job; the price follows on the call whilst nobody has set off yet.
Draining your tank comes first, followed by a full flush — more important with urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't go by themselves, however long it sits. Next comes the filter — flushed, or swapped where necessary — followed by clean diesel, and a test of your vehicle. Where your motor has not run, allow roughly half an hour once we arrive, in most jobs.
Starting the engine comes at the end. Our test that it runs correctly on new diesel comes before we leave. The entire job is done where the car is, and when it is noticed early, long-term damage is very uncommon. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing in advance. It is worth knowing: lots of insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy as we travel pays.
About Rigside, for a moment
Rigside is a village in South Lanarkshire, situated on the banks of a river at an elevation of 253 metres. Rigside lies approximately 25 miles southeast of Glasgow and is surrounded by nearby places such as Douglas Water, Uddington, and Carmichael. Rigside has a population of around 692 people and predominantly consists of semi-detached housing. Rigside is located in a rural setting, with Glasgow being the nearest major city.
AdBlue drains around Rigside, and across South Lanarkshire too
Over ML postcodes, the vans covering Rigside — a village — work surrounding places too, Uddington and Carmichael among them. The location is quickest from a postcode beginning ML11 9.
Central Rigside or a layby near Douglas Water Golf Course: wherever it is, your vehicle doesn't need to move at all for this drain. The van empties it in place. If you are somewhere hard to describe, close to Cameronian Scottish Rifles War Memorial or close to a border, ring and ask instead of assuming.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off then ring. Run already: stop, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, in Rigside or anywhere in South Lanarkshire.