AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Watton Green: Why It Happens and How to Stop It
Keep the motor and ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103 now — reading can wait if AdBlue is already in your diesel tank. Around Watton Green, catching it before the engine turns usually leaves draining and a thorough flush on the spot. Nothing happened yet? Below, the rest of the page explains the why it takes place and the how to prevent it for good.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel vehicle need its own filler?
Many modern diesels on the roads around Watton Green and Caudlesprings carry two liquids, not one. Diesel goes to the engine. AdBlue's own tank holds it, and from there it goes to your exhaust, and there a spray treats the gas.
Every tank has a filler of its own. Many of cars share a single flap for both, while others put the AdBlue filler to your boot or under the bonnet. The diesel side is filled at the pump all the time. A driver who has to stop and work out where it goes normally tops up the AdBlue side, from a bottle, and much less often. It is in the gap that the mistake lives.
How does AdBlue in your diesel tank occur in Watton Green?
It's rarely carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
To start with, the warning. Low AdBlue triggers a message from the car, and running dry means limp mode — hence a rushed top-up, perhaps before work off Town Green Road, perhaps outside Willow House on the way home after work.
Then, the hand reaches for the cap it would have used on the old motor — because a rental car, a new vehicle or a company car puts the fillers where your last one didn't.
A spout-topped bottle meets no obstacle at a diesel filler any more than at an AdBlue one. And so the tip, after started, carries on. It takes seconds, whether in Neaton or bang in the centre of Watton Green.
The AdBlue filler and the diesel filler: telling them apart
Look at these first, on a forecourt around Watton Green or a drive over in Carbrooke. A few seconds, that's all.
- Read the cap rather than going by where it sits: AdBlue caps are frequently blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel ones usually aren't.
- Many vehicles give AdBlue the smaller neck of the two.
- The flap. Look inside your fuel flap for a label. Plenty of vehicles say there which fuel goes where.
- The handbook. If your filler is not by your diesel cap, it's in the boot or under the bonnet, and the handbook says which.
- Check with 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 Attleborough.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach the diesel tank
For the day the light comes on — anywhere it is around Norfolk — a simple routine to use.
- Not in a rush on the side of Watton Green, not on a slope, not with the motor running: park and switch off first.
- Daft as it sounds, speaking "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap does the trick — once you have found your filler and read it.
- The diesel cap remains on. Where both sit under a flap, confirm it is shut before the bottle comes up.
- Pour slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it's full or when the bottle is empty.
- Shut the cap, and check once more — making sure your diesel filler stayed closed the whole time. Only then, start the vehicle.
Stop there if you find, at stage two or three, that you've already poured into your diesel side. Don't go on to stage five.
Already put AdBlue in your diesel tank around Watton Green?
Don't start the engine: that's how the short order of things starts. On many diesels your ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so do not switch the car on. Diluting it with extra diesel won't work, because AdBlue sinks to the base instead of mixing — and that is where your fuel is drawn from.
If you are at a forecourt, whether it's the Merco or the JET, ask the staff to help push the car away from the petrol pump. Your own drive in Watton Green is where it stays.
Stop as soon as it is safe then switch off, if the engine has already run. Leave the M11 — under 50 miles out of Watton Green — at the next junction. About how far did it go? Hopping across Watton Green is smaller a job than a run of under 25 miles to Norwich, so tell us.
What takes place when we arrive around Watton Green
Our technicians come to your car wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Watton Westfield Infant and Nursery School, close to moat or on your own driveway. What fluid got in, the quantity, and whether it ran: our technicians ask because those answers set both work and quote. No one heads out before you have heard the price over the phone.
Then that tank is cleared and the system flushed thoroughly. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't wash out on its own — which is why the flush matters more with AdBlue than with petrol. The filter flushed or, where needed, swapped; fresh diesel in; and then a test of the car. Then we start the engine and make sure it runs correctly before leaving.
Most jobs are finished in about half an hour after our engineers arrive, as long as your engine hasn't run — and the pumps our engineers use are fine on a live forecourt and quiet after dark beside a house. No money in advance; you settle up that day. Afterwards, the VAT invoice and the report from the engineer are handed to you for the insurer. It is worth checking your policy as the van travels to you: misfuelling cover comes with many policies.
About Watton Green, for a moment
Watton Green is a suburban area in Norfolk, situated inland at an elevation of 49 metres, and is located near the towns of Watton and Neaton. Watton Green is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its relatively recent development as a residential area. Watton Green sits within the wider landscape of the Eastern region, with the nearest city being Norwich, approximately 19 miles away. Watton Green is also within commuting distance of London, which is around 84 miles to the south.
Watton Green and Norfolk: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout IP postcodes, our vans that cover Watton Green — a residential suburb — work the nearby locations too, Ovington and Watton included. A postcode starting IP25 6 gets our van to you fastest.
The vehicle doesn't need to move. We drain it where it is — a side street close to War Memorial, a lay-by on the way to Loch Neaton, a driveway. If you're near a border, or somewhere hard to explain like the back of Saint Mary's, ring and ask rather than assuming.
In short, for Watton Green drivers
First, the cap; then, the tip. AdBlue in the diesel tank regardless? Keep the car switched off then phone 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, across Norfolk.