Tidworth: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
Has your motor run since the AdBlue got in? That single question settles nearly everything else from here. Wherever the vehicle is — Perham Down, Tidworth — don't run a motor that hasn't been started yet. Usually this means draining and thoroughly purging it on the spot in Tidworth — and so leave the key and motor off then ring 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. A larger job, then, but the same opening move.
Match your case to a situation from the list below, anywhere across Wiltshire you happen to be.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Tidworth forecourt
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only notice it as you are standing at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Perhaps you are at the Esso, perhaps at the Murco, perhaps somewhere else in Tidworth.
Meaning? Spotting it on the forecourt is the best it gets. Only your tank holds AdBlue; not one component past it has taken any in.
What to do: don't get back in and fire it up to clear the pump. A few jobs: a push into a space with the attendants assisting, the receipt saved, and a ring to us from the forecourt. Can't move it by the pump? Our explosion-proof kit keeps a busy forecourt safe, so it can be drained in place.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Tidworth drive?
For days the dashboard had been nagging you. Bought a container, poured it in at home, binned the empty — and only then looked at the cap a second time, after the fact. Just off Pennings Road is not different from any other place.
In short: if your car has not moved since, it is almost as good as spotting it at the forecourt. Being reluctant to blend, AdBlue drops to the base inside that tank and waits. One night parked alters nothing.
Put the keys in the house tonight — or a person might take it off at breakfast — and call us. North Tidworth or Tidworth: whichever your drive is, that is where it gets emptied. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Tidworth?
A short way beyond topping up, the engine began playing up: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on the dash. Ludgershall Road, say, or the way to Salisbury — a run of under 15 miles.
What it means: the fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. It has been through the fuel filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and your injectors. Every restart, like every mile, pushes it deeper.
Your move: pull up anywhere safe, then turn the motor off. Service stations farther along are too far: from the M4, under 25 miles out of Tidworth, use the next junction. Don't restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Tell us hear the mileage driven when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
You've just driven the car for days. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel filler, which you did not know, because your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Wiltshire.
In short: an extra step on top of the situations above, which depend on if it has run. Any work on your car often requires the owner's go-ahead under hire or fleet terms.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before we get there than after. Hanging on for an answer in the car park outside Grateley, or near Holy Trinity? Leave your car off meanwhile.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Tidworth?
At times the fair answer is "I think so". A faint ammonia smell lingers near the filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is a blur. The gates of Clarendon Junior School (Clarendon Federation) in a hurry, perhaps, or someone's drive out in Ludgershall.
The upshot: your engine isn't harmed by a little AdBlue spilled around the filler. Inside your diesel tank, however, AdBlue harms it. Any AdBlue in your tank would be drawn in by starting your car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Next: assume it got in, and leave your motor off. Ring us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in each Tidworth AdBlue drain
The work opens the same way, whatever your situation. Wherever the car is — Ram Inn's car park, a street by Tidworth Garrison Theatre, a drive, a forecourt — our van gets there and we ask about the liquid, the amount, and if the engine has been run. Replies shape the job; the price follows on the call whilst no one has left yet.
Then that tank is drained and your 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 doesn't rinse out on its own. Finally come the filter, flushed or renewed if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of the car. Not started? In that case about half an hour on site is most jobs.
Last, our engineers fire it up. With new diesel in, it runs while we confirm it's running smoothly, and then we leave. Lasting damage is very rare when it's caught early, and the whole job is done where the car is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money in advance. Worth knowing: many insurers include misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your policy while we travel is worthwhile.
About Tidworth and where it is
Tidworth is a town situated in the county of Wiltshire, in the South West region of England, with a riverside setting and an elevation of 111 metres. Tidworth lies near the city of Salisbury, approximately 13 miles away, and is also close to the nearby places of North Tidworth and South Tidworth. Tidworth has a population of around 9899 people and predominantly consists of semi-detached housing. Tidworth is located about 68 miles from London, making it a commuter town for some residents.
AdBlue drains round Tidworth and across Wiltshire
As a riverside town, Tidworth has the same vans as the nearby places — Tidworth Camp, South Tidworth — all the way through SP postcodes. A postcode starting SP9 7 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Central Tidworth or a layby towards Halfmoon Clump: wherever it is, your car doesn't need to move an inch for this drain. Draining happens on the spot. Guessing doesn't help beside Tidworth Leisure Centre, close to a county line or anywhere hard to pin down; phone and check.
Your scenario, in one line
Not run yet: keep it off and ring. Run already: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, in Tidworth or anywhere across Wiltshire.