AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Stonydelph: Why It Occurs and How to Stop It
AdBlue already in your diesel tank? Then set this page down for now, leave your ignition and motor off, and phone 0333 366 0103. A drain and a full flush, done right where the car stands in Stonydelph, is normally all it takes if found before your motor runs. Reading in advance? In that case the rest covers how it comes about and how to prevent it ever happening.
AdBlue in a diesel vehicle, and its separate tank
Many newer diesels in Belgrave, like those in Stonydelph, run on two liquids; the engine takes only your diesel. Your exhaust, not the engine, is where AdBlue ends up: dosed into the gas to clean them, from its own tank.
Different tanks, different fillers. Under one flap, next to each other: that is the arrangement on a lot of cars. Elsewhere, AdBlue's filler sits under the bonnet or in the boot instead. Diesel gets filled on each forecourt call-out, again and again. Far less commonly, the AdBlue side is topped up — normally from a bottle, by a person thinking about where it goes. The mistake grows in the gap between them.
Stonydelph: how AdBlue in the diesel tank happens
Three things tend to come together, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
To start with, the warning. Low AdBlue triggers a message from the vehicle, and running dry means limp mode — hence a rushed top-up, maybe before work off Malham Road, or outside Blacksmiths Arms on the way home after work.
Unfamiliar cars are second, too. Rentals, new motors and company cars put their fillers differently, and the hand goes for the cap it used on the old one.
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 once it has started. It takes a few seconds, be it out in Glascote Heath or bang in the heart of Stonydelph.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Be it a Stonydelph forecourt or a drive over in Amington, take a few seconds on these before anything goes in.
- Colour and lettering: an AdBlue cap is regularly blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap normally does not. Go by the cap, not where it sits.
- Check the size: the smaller neck is, on many cars, the AdBlue one.
- A label inside the fuel flap often shows which fuel goes where, on plenty of vehicles. Check for it.
- Can't see it beside the diesel filler? Then look beneath the bonnet or in the boot — the owner's manual says which.
- The person who drove the car last. On a hire or company car picked up from somewhere like the car park at Wilnecote, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
Keeping AdBlue out of your diesel tank when you top up
Wherever in Staffordshire the light comes on, here is a routine for that day.
- Switch off once parked — flat ground, motor off, and not rushed beside Dover Farm Close at the roadside.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, after finding the AdBlue filler and read it. Daft, yes, but it does the trick.
- Leave the diesel cap on. If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle.
- Pour slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it's full or when the bottle is empty.
- Before you start the vehicle, shut the cap and check a second time that your diesel cap never opened off.
Find at step two or three that it has already gone into your diesel side? Then stop just there. Stage five stays off limits.
Stonydelph: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Short list, then. First: the motor stays unstarted. The fuel pump runs on plenty of diesels the moment your ignition goes on — so leave it off. Thinning it with extra diesel won't work, since AdBlue sinks to the bottom instead of blending — and that's where the fuel is pulled from.
Ask the staff to help roll the car clear of the pump if you're at a forecourt — the Esso, the Morrisons or somewhere else. Leave it where it is if you are on your own drive in Stonydelph.
Where the engine has run by now, stop safely then switch it off. The next exit means the place to leave when you're on the M42, under a mile from Stonydelph. Tell us roughly how far it went: a run towards Lichfield, under 10 miles away, is a bigger job than a short hop across Stonydelph.
What happens when our engineers get there around Stonydelph
We come to the vehicle wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Three Peaks Primary Academy, close to St Martin's Church & Centre or on your own driveway. What fluid got in, the quantity, and if it ran: our technicians ask because the replies set the work and price. You hear that quote by phone, before anybody heads out.
Next: draining, then a thorough flush of the entire system. Much more than with petrol, it counts here: the crystals form, some metals are attacked, and none of that washes out unaided, however long it sits. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Before leaving, our technicians start the engine and confirm that it's running properly.
If the engine has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there, using pumps that are fine on a busy forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house at night. The insurer will ask for an engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and you get both once the job is done. Payment is on the day, with no money upfront. Wrong-fuel cover is included in plenty of insurance policies — and so use the wait to look at yours.
About Stonydelph
Stonydelph is a suburban area in Staffordshire, situated approximately 8.8 miles from Lichfield and 100.1 miles from London. Stonydelph lies inland at an elevation of around 89 metres, near the communities of Glascote Heath, Wilnecote, and Birchmoor. Stonydelph is characterised by its predominantly semi-detached housing stock, reflecting its development as a residential area. Stonydelph has a population of around 7515 people, making it a modestly sized suburban community.
AdBlue drains across Staffordshire, Stonydelph included
Wilnecote and Birchmoor are among the places near Stonydelph, a residential suburb, that the same teams cover, over B postcodes. Fastest of all: give a B77 4 postcode to the van.
The vehicle does not need to shift. Anywhere it stands — beside Community Centre, in a layby heading to Polesworth Recreation Ground, at home — that's where it is drained. Assuming won't help at the back of Daytona Tamworth, close to a border, or anywhere awkward to pin down; ring and ask.
Stonydelph motorists: the short version
Before you tip, read the cap. If AdBlue has gone in your diesel tank regardless, leave it off then ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel clears it where it waits, anywhere around Staffordshire.