AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Southsea: Why It Occurs and How to Stop It
AdBlue already in your diesel tank? Then put this page down for now, leave the ignition and motor off, then phone 0333 366 0103. A drain and a full flush, done right where the vehicle sits around Southsea, is usually what it takes when found before the motor runs. The remainder of this page covers why it occurs and how to make sure it doesn't — useful if you are reading before it has happened.
Two fillers, two tanks: AdBlue in a diesel motor
Plenty of newer diesels in Old Portsmouth, like those in Southsea, run on two liquids; the engine takes only your diesel. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
There is a filler on every tank. On a lot of cars the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in the boot or under the bonnet. The diesel side is filled at the pump all the time. A driver who has to stop and think where it goes usually fills the AdBlue side, from a bottle, and far less often. It is in the gap that the slip lives.
How AdBlue in your diesel tank happens in Southsea
Carelessness rarely explains it. Instead is three things lining up at once.
The warning comes first. As AdBlue runs low your car tells you, and if it runs out altogether, the vehicle drops into limp mode. So the top-up is done in a hurry: on a drive off Albert Grove before work, or in the car park outside Lord John Russell on the way home.
New-to-you vehicles are second, as well. Rentals, new cars and company cars put their fillers differently, and habit goes for the cap it used on the old one.
A spouted bottle meets no resistance at a diesel filler any more than at an AdBlue one. And so the tip, after started, carries on. Whether it occurs in Somers Town or the middle of Southsea, it is the same few seconds.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Check these first, at a forecourt in Southsea or a driveway out in Milton. A few seconds, that's all.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is regularly blue, or marked "AdBlue". Your diesel cap normally is not. Read it instead of going by where it sits.
- Look at the size: the smaller neck is, on many cars, the AdBlue one.
- The flap. Look inside the fuel flap for a label. Plenty of cars say there which fuel goes where.
- Cannot find it next to the diesel inlet? Then check beneath the bonnet or inside the boot — the owner's manual will say which.
- Ask the person who drove it last — before you leave, not when the light comes on — if you pick up a hire or company car from somewhere like the car park at Fratton.
How to top up without AdBlue in your diesel tank
Anywhere around Hampshire the light comes on, here is a routine for that day.
- Switch off once parked — level ground, motor stopped, and never in a rush beside Albert Road on the verge.
- Daft as it sounds, saying "AdBlue" out loud while you unscrew the cap works — once you have located the filler and read the cap.
- If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave the car on.
- Using the bottle's own spout, pour slowly — and stop when it's full or the bottle is empty.
- Only after that, start the car: close the cap, check a second time, and make sure your diesel cap was never opened.
Stop there if you find, at stage two or three, that you've already poured into your diesel side. Skip step five entirely.
Already put AdBlue in your diesel tank in Southsea?
The short order of things, beginning with no starting your motor. The fuel pump starts on plenty of diesels the moment the ignition goes on — and so leave it off. Don't top up with diesel to dilute it: AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of that tank, where the fuel is drawn from.
If you're on a forecourt, whether it is the Esso or the Shell, ask the staff to help push the car clear of the petrol pump. If you are on your own drive in Southsea, leave it where it is.
Already run? Pull over when it's sensible, then switch off. The next exit means where to leave when you're on the M275, under 3 miles from Southsea. About how far did it go? Crossing Southsea is less work than a trip of under a mile towards Portsmouth, and so tell us.
Southsea: what takes place when our engineers turn up
Wherever the vehicle came to rest, whether outside Southsea Infant School, beside Frank Matcham or on your own drive, our van comes to it. What liquid was put in, the quantity, and if it ran: we ask since those answers decide the work and price. You get that quote on the phone, before anyone heads out.
Draining your tank comes next, followed by a thorough flush of the fuel system. Unlike petrol, AdBlue leaves crystals and eats at certain fuel-system metals, and none of it clears out by itself. Hence it matters more. Testing is last: before that, clean diesel is added, and the filter is cleaned or replaced as needed. We don't leave until it has been fired up and is running smoothly.
With pumps fine on a busy forecourt and quiet enough for use outside a house at night, most jobs in which the engine hasn't run need about half an hour after our technicians are there. Your insurer usually wants an engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and both are yours once this job is done. Payment is on the day, with no deposit. Wrong-fuel cover is part of plenty of insurance policies — and so make use of the wait to check yours.
About Southsea
Southsea is a suburban area located on the southern coast of Hampshire, adjacent to Portsmouth and overlooking the Solent Strait. Southsea sits at a low elevation of around 5 metres, with its terraced housing stock reflecting its historical development as a residential area. Southsea is close to nearby places such as Somers Town and Fratton, and is situated approximately 64.7 miles from London. Southsea has a population of around 20,230 people.
AdBlue drains in Southsea and across Hampshire
Portsmouth and Fratton are among the towns near Southsea, a residential suburb, that the same teams cover, throughout PO postcodes. Give a postcode that starts PO5 2, and our van gets there quickest.
No need to shift the vehicle. We drain it where it is — a side street near Kings Theatre, a lay-by on the way to Waverley Gardens, a driveway. Ring and ask instead of guessing if you're close to a boundary, or somewhere hard to explain, like the back of Portsmouth Temple of Spiritualism.
For Southsea motorists, the short version
First, the cap; then, the tip. If AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank anyway, leave it off and phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel clears it where it waits, anywhere in Hampshire.