Preventing AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Seaton Sluice: Why It Occurs
Stop here a minute if your diesel tank already has AdBlue in it: ignition off, engine off, then call 0333 366 0103. In Seaton Sluice, catching it before your motor turns normally means draining and a full flush on the spot. The remainder of this page covers why it occurs and how to make sure it doesn't — useful if you're reading ahead of time.
Two fillers, two tanks: AdBlue in a diesel vehicle
Diesel feeds the engine — but plenty of modern diesels seen about Seaton Sluice and Bates Cottages hold another liquid as well. AdBlue goes to your exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Different tanks, different fillers. On a lot of vehicles the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in your boot or under the bonnet. At the pump, your diesel side is topped up all the time. Someone who has to stop and think where it goes usually fills the AdBlue side, from a bottle, and far less regularly. That gap is where the slip lives.
How does AdBlue in your diesel tank happen in Seaton Sluice?
Three things tend to come together, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
Hurry follows from the warning. The vehicle warns you as AdBlue runs low, and an empty tank puts the vehicle into limp mode — so the top-up happens in a rush, before work on a driveway off Collywell Bay Road, or on the way home in the car park at Seaton Sluice Social Club.
The old car's cap is where your hand goes — but a rental car, a new car or a company car keeps the fillers somewhere else. That is the second thing: an unfamiliar vehicle.
And the bottle fits. A bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one, and so nothing stops the pour after it has started. It's a few seconds, whether in Seaton or bang in the heart of Seaton Sluice.
Telling the AdBlue filler from the diesel filler
Whether a Seaton Sluice forecourt or a driveway out in Seaton Delaval, take a few seconds on these before any goes in.
- Check the cap instead of going by where it sits: AdBlue caps are regularly blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel ones usually aren't.
- On many motors, size tells: AdBlue gets the smaller filler neck.
- A label inside your fuel flap often shows which fuel goes where, on many motors. Check for it.
- Cannot see it beside the diesel inlet? In that case check beneath the bonnet or inside the boot — the owner's manual says where.
- Collecting a hire or company car, say at the car park outside Newsham? Check with whoever drove it last before you set off, not when the light goes on.
Keeping AdBlue out of the diesel tank when you top up
For the day the warning comes on — anywhere it is across Northumberland — a routine to use.
- Turn off once parked — level ground, motor stopped, and never rushed beside A193 at the roadside.
- Find the AdBlue filler, read the cap, and speak the name "AdBlue" out loud as unscrewing it. It seems silly. It does the trick.
- The two under one flap? So confirm the cap on the diesel filler stays closed ahead of lifting the bottle.
- Pour slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it is full or when the bottle is empty.
- Only after that, start your car: close the cap, check once more, and make sure your diesel cap was never opened.
Find at stage two or three that it has already gone into the diesel side? So stop right there. Leave out step five entirely.
Seaton Sluice: already put AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Don't start your motor: that is where the short order of things starts. The fuel pump runs on many diesels as soon as your ignition goes on — so keep it off. AdBlue does not mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of the tank, where your fuel is sucked from — so don't top up with diesel to dilute it.
If you're on a forecourt, whether it's the Wheatridge Park Filling Station or the Sainsbury's, ask the attendants to help push the vehicle clear of the pump. Leave it where it is if you're on your own driveway around Seaton Sluice.
Where the engine has run already, stop somewhere safe then turn the vehicle off. The next junction is where to leave if you're on the A167(M), under 10 miles from Seaton Sluice. A short hop across Seaton Sluice is a smaller job than a run towards Newcastle upon Tyne, under 10 miles away, and so tell us roughly how far it went.
Seaton Sluice: what occurs when our engineers turn up
We come to your car wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Seaton Sluice First School, near St. Paul's or on your own drive. Both the work and the price depend on three replies — what fluid, which amount, and if it has run — so our technicians ask. During the call itself, you are told the quote — ahead of dispatch.
The fuel system is then rinsed thoroughly, once your tank is cleared. With AdBlue that counts more than with petrol: it crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't wash out on its own. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. After that our engineers start the engine and check it runs smoothly before leaving.
Most jobs are done in about half an hour after our engineers arrive, as long as your motor hasn't run — and the pumps our technicians use are safe on a busy forecourt and quiet at night beside a house. Nothing upfront; you settle up that day. Afterwards, the VAT invoice and the report from the engineer go to you for your insurer. Wrong-fuel cover is included in many insurance policies — so use the wait to check yours.
About Seaton Sluice and where it is
Seaton Sluice is a small coastal village in Northumberland, situated near the mouth of the Seaton Burn, with Seaton Sluice being a popular spot for walkers and nature lovers. Seaton Sluice has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are predominant, and Seaton Sluice is close to the nearby villages of Seaton and Holywell. Seaton Sluice is located about 9 miles from Newcastle upon Tyne, making it a commuter base for the city.
AdBlue drains about Seaton Sluice, and Northumberland beyond
Seaton Sluice is a coastal village, and our vans that cover it also work the towns around it, Holywell and New Hartley among them, across the NE postcode area. Fastest of all: give a NE26 4 postcode for the van.
The vehicle stays put. A driveway, a lay-by on the way to Crag Park, a side street close to The Round House: our engineers drain the car where it is. Ring and ask instead of assuming if you're near a border, or somewhere hard to describe, like the back of Seaton Sluice War Memorial.
Seaton Sluice drivers: the short version
Always, the cap; after that, the pour. AdBlue in your diesel tank after all? Leave the car switched off then phone 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, across Northumberland.