AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Runwell, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if your engine has been run since it was put in. Anywhere the vehicle is — Rawreth, Runwell — don't run an engine that hasn't been started yet. Leave the engine and your ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Runwell. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. A larger job, then, yet the identical opening step.
Further down: the situations we meet, wherever around Essex. Pick yours.
At the petrol pump around Runwell: AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: standing by the pump, gripping the nozzle, you spot the filler you opened wasn't the right one. It could be the Texaco, or the BP, or another forecourt around Runwell.
The upshot: of every spot to notice, this is the best. Still inside the tank, with no fuel drawn onwards: that is where the AdBlue is.
What to do: don't get back in and crank it to clear the pump. Phone us from the forecourt once your vehicle sits in a space — the staff will lend a hand to roll it — then save the receipt. Can't move the car by the petrol pump? Explosion-proof kit makes a busy forecourt sensible, and so we can drain the vehicle where it is.
At home in Runwell with AdBlue in your diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you had used on the driveway. Just off Runwell Road is not different from any other place.
The upshot: no driving since makes this almost as good to spotting it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue settles to the base of the tank and stays put, however long the night.
Your move: the keys in the house, and so no one drives your vehicle anywhere at breakfast. Then, ring. In Wickford or right here around Runwell, the draining happens on your drive. The pumping kit runs quietly enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
On the road in Runwell with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe heading to Chelmsford, under 10 miles away, or just along Locarno Avenue.
The point: the system has pulled AdBlue through already. Past your filter, through the lines, and — the more the mileage — on into the injection pump and each injector. More miles, more starts: deeper it goes.
Do this: pull up somewhere safe, then turn your motor off. Service stations farther on can wait: on the M25, under 15 miles out of Runwell, take the next junction. It won't have cleared, so there is no point starting it again to find out. Phone us and say how far you went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've only driven this car for days. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers sit next to each other here — not like your own car, which has none or keeps it elsewhere. Anywhere you happen to be around Essex, any driver can slip up.
Meaning? Whichever case above counts here — run or not — plus one extra stage. Many hire and company agreements need the owner's approval for work.
Next: phone the rental company or your fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before we arrive is quicker. Keep it switched off while the reply comes, even if you are waiting at Wickford or near St Mary, Runwell.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Runwell
Sometimes the fair answer is "I think so". What cap came off, you cannot say; but the bottle weighs less than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by the filler. A hurried top-up by the gates of Runwell Community Primary School, or a call to a friend in Battlesbridge: either fit.
Meaning? Spills outside the filler don't touch the engine at all. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different matter. Turning on your car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in that tank it would draw it in.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Don't crank it. Checking a tank that proves free of AdBlue beats draining one once it has been run — so ring and describe to us what you saw.
Each AdBlue drain around Runwell shares these steps
The work opens identically, whatever your situation. We come to the vehicle, whether it's at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside The Quart Pot or a side street near Wickford War Memorial, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and if the motor has been run. Those replies decide the work, and you hear our price on the phone, before anybody sets off.
Then the tank is drained and your system cleaned thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Fresh diesel is put in once the fuel filter has been cleaned or changed, and your car is finally tested. Where the motor has not run, expect roughly half an hour on site, for most cases.
The final step is firing it up. Our test that it runs properly on fresh diesel comes before we go. If it is caught early, the car very seldom has lasting damage, and the entire job happens where it is. Paying comes that day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. Plenty of policies cover misfuelling, and so check yours while the van travels.
About Runwell itself
Runwell is a village in Essex, situated on the riverside at a low elevation of around 11 metres, near the cities of Chelmsford and London. Runwell has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are predominant, and is located close to nearby places such as Wickford, Rawreth Shot, and Shotgate. Runwell remains a relatively small community, with a population of approximately 2037 residents.
AdBlue drains around Runwell and across Essex
Rawreth Shot and Shotgate have the same vans as Runwell, a village, plus other places over SS postcodes. The location comes clearest from a postcode that starts SS11 7.
Parked heading to Runwell Playing Fields, or right in the centre of Runwell, the vehicle remains put — there is no need to move it anywhere. Wherever it sits, that is where it is emptied. Assuming doesn't help beside St Catherine, Wickford, close to a border or anywhere hard to pin down; phone and ask.
Your scenario, summed up
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off and ring. Run already: pull over, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, within Runwell or anywhere in Essex.