AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in West Hill: What Now?
All of that hinges on a single fact: if your engine has been run since the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. Over in Weeke or here in West Hill, an unstarted engine must stay that way. Keep nothing on, call 0333 366 0103, and count on a thorough flush after a drain, done right where the vehicle stands around West Hill. Already started? Pull over once safe, then turn everything off. It is a larger job, yet stage one does not change.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever around Hampshire it happened.
At the petrol pump around West Hill: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only notice it while you are stood at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. Be it BP, Esso or somewhere else around West Hill, the situation is the same.
In short: there is no better place to be to spot it. Just that tank has AdBlue; not one part beyond it has drawn any in.
Clearing the petrol pump is no reason to run it — so don't get back in. A few jobs: a push into a space with the staff assisting, the receipt saved, and a call to us from the forecourt. Stuck by the petrol pump? Explosion-proof equipment makes a busy forecourt safe, so it can be drained where it is.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a West Hill drive?
The warning light had been on for days. A bottle from the shop, tipped in at the driveway — and it's only by the bin that the cap caught a second look. It happens on driveways just off Queens Road as regularly as anywhere.
Put simply: if the car hasn't moved since, it's almost as good as spotting it at the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue settles to the floor of that tank and stays there, no matter how long the night.
Next: the keys in the house, and so nobody takes the vehicle anywhere first thing. After that, phone. Out in Sleepers Hill or right here around West Hill, the drain is done at your drive. Late-night clears outside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in West Hill?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe heading to Winchester, under 3 miles away, or just along Nightingale Park.
The upshot: the system has drawn AdBlue through by now. It's been through your filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors. More driving, more restarts: deeper it goes.
Your move: pull up anywhere sensible, then turn your motor off. On the M3, under 3 miles from West Hill, that means the next exit, not the services further on. It won't have cleared, so there's no sense starting it again to find out. Phone us and say how far you drove.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It is a car you have had for a week. Your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, and so nothing warned you the AdBlue inlet was just beside your diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Hampshire.
Put simply: an extra stage on top of the situations above, which depend on if it's run. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
Settling it before the van arrives is quicker, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. If you're stranded in the car park at Winchester, or by Make a Difference - Greta Thunberg, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, in West Hill
Honestly, the only answer may be that you think so. Too light, that bottle; a trace of ammonia near your filler; no clear memory of the cap. Look familiar? Maybe on a friend's driveway in The Close, or rushing outside Western Church of England Primary School at the school run.
What it means: a little spilled around your filler does no harm to your motor. A diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different matter. If there is AdBlue in the tank, starting the vehicle would pull it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Take it that it went in, and don't start your engine. Ring us and explain what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in every West Hill AdBlue drain
Every case gets the same start to the work. Our engineers come to the vehicle, whether it's on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside The County Arms or a side street close to University Chapel, and ask three things: what got in, about how much, and if the engine has been run. On the phone, before dispatch, you hear the price, and those answers shape the job too.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to certain metals in fuel systems, so it won't rinse out on its own; that is why a full flush, after this drain, counts much more with AdBlue than with petrol. Last come the filter, cleaned or renewed if necessary; fresh diesel; and a test of your vehicle. If the motor has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
The final step is starting the engine. Our test that it runs correctly on clean diesel comes before we head off. If it's spotted soon, the car very rarely has long-term damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money in advance. Check your insurance before we arrive: cover for misfuelling is included in plenty of policies.
About West Hill
West Hill is a suburban area situated near the city of Winchester in Hampshire, with a mix of terraced housing and other residential properties. West Hill sits at an elevation of around 109 metres, close to the nearby areas of Sleepers Hill and Fulflood. West Hill is located approximately 1 mile from Winchester city centre and about 60 miles from London. West Hill has a population of around 7251 people, living in a variety of housing types, predominantly terraced.
AdBlue drains in West Hill, and across Hampshire too
Being a residential suburb, West Hill has the same vans as the surrounding towns — Stanmore, Fulflood — right across SO postcodes. Fastest of all: a SO22 4 postcode to show where you stand.
No moving is required, be it stopped in the centre of West Hill or in a layby en route to Oram's Arbour, so leave it where it is. Our technicians drain it where it is. If you're somewhere hard to describe, close to Martial Rose Library or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of assuming.
Your situation, summed up
Engine never started: phone, and leave it switched off. Run already? Pull over, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whichever it is, across West Hill and Hampshire, on 0333 366 0103.