What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in St Pancras
All of it turns on a single detail: whether your motor has been run after the AdBlue went in — far more than anything else. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is around St Pancras itself or out in Barnsbury. Call 0333 366 0103 with the key and engine both off. In St Pancras, that is typically drained and flushed where it stands. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. It is a larger job, yet stage one doesn't change.
Wherever across Greater London it took place, one of the situations below fits yours.
At the pump in St Pancras: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only notice it while you are standing at the pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Maybe you are at the Texaco, possibly at the Esso, possibly somewhere else in St Pancras.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is the best it gets. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Freeing the pump is no reason to start it — so don't get back in. A few things: a push into a space with the attendants helping, the bottle kept, and a ring to us from where you stand. Draining it right at the petrol pump is possible when it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home in St Pancras with AdBlue in your diesel tank
Days had gone by with the warning light on. A bottle from the garage, emptied in at the drive — and it was only by the bin that the cap got a second look. Drives close to Camley Street get it as much as anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves your car in the morning. Then call. Your driveway is where it is drained, be it in St Pancras or Kings Cross. The equipment works quiet enough not to disturb the street at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around St Pancras?
A mile or two after filling up, your motor began playing up: rough running, smoke, less power, lights on your dash. Somewhere along Pancras Road or else on the road to London — under 3 miles away.
Meaning? The fuel pump has taken the AdBlue up. The injection pump and each injector get it as well on a bigger trip, once the filter and lines have had it. It goes further with every mile covered and each restart.
What to do: pull over where it's safe then switch off. St Pancras sits under 10 miles from the M1; on it, pull off at the first junction rather than pressing on to the services. Do not restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Call us and say how far you drove.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
A week ago, it was unknown to you. Your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere, so no one told you the AdBlue inlet sits right beside the diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around Greater London.
The point: just as above, divided by if it ran, only with an added step. The owner frequently has to sign off the work, under many hire and fleet agreements.
Next: ring the hire company or your fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before our arrival is quicker. If you are stuck in the car park outside London St Pancras International, or by Pancras Square Library, while you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, in St Pancras
Truthfully, the only answer may be that you think it did. Lighter, that bottle; a trace of ammonia near the filler; no clear recollection of which cap. Look familiar? Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Edith Neville Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Camden Town.
The upshot: the motor isn't hurt by a little AdBlue spilled on the filler. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in the tank, starting your car would suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't start the car. Describe what you noticed on the phone. A clear tank looked at counts as a better result than a run one emptied.
What every AdBlue drain in St Pancras has in common
No matter the situation, one start is used. Our technicians come to your car, whether it's on a forecourt, a drive, the car park at The Barrel Vault or a side street close to Pancras Square Leisure Centre, and ask three things: what went in, roughly how much, and if the engine has been run. On the phone, ahead of dispatch, you hear our price, and those replies shape the work too.
Then the tank is emptied and the fuel system cleaned thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not rinse out on its own. Next comes the fuel filter — flushed, or swapped when necessary — followed by fresh diesel, and a test of the car. Never started? Then about half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
Starting the car comes at the end. Our test that it runs correctly on clean diesel comes before we leave. When it is noticed soon, the vehicle very seldom has long-term damage, and the entire job happens where it is. Payment comes on the day, never upfront. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. Dig out your insurance while we arrive: cover for misfuelling comes built into many policies.
About St Pancras itself
St Pancras is a suburban area in central London, situated near the Regent's Canal and the River Thames, with a mix of old and new buildings. St Pancras sits at a relatively low elevation of 19 metres above sea level, close to the city centre and neighbouring areas like Kings Cross and Somers Town. St Pancras is predominantly composed of flat dwellings, reflecting its urban character. St Pancras is home to a diverse population of around 17,167 people, living in a variety of housing types.
AdBlue drains round St Pancras and across Greater London
Over N1C postcodes, the teams serving St Pancras — a residential suburb — reach surrounding towns too, Somers Town and Pentonville among them. Your location comes quickest from a postcode beginning N1C 4.
Centre of St Pancras or a lay-by near Olympic Ring Park: wherever it is, your car never needs to move an inch for this drain. Our van drains it where it stands. If you're somewhere hard to describe, near The Olympic Ring benches or close to a border, ring and ask rather than assuming.
Your scenario, summed up
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off and ring. Run already? Pull over, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whichever it is, in St Pancras and Greater London, on 0333 366 0103.