AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Wigton, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if your motor has run since it went in. Out in Brackenlands or here around Wigton, an unstarted motor must stay unrun. Keep nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, and count on a thorough flush after a drain, carried out right where your car stands in Wigton. Stop the minute you safely can and switch off, if it has been run. It's a larger job, though step one does not change.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever in Cumbria it happened.
At the pump in Wigton: AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: standing by the petrol pump, gripping the bottle, you spot the filler you opened was not the correct one. Somewhere in Wigton, then — BP, another forecourt nearby, or anywhere else nearby.
What it means: this is the ideal spot to find out. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
What to do: do not get back in and start the vehicle to clear the pump. Phone us from the forecourt once your vehicle is in a space — the staff will lend a hand to roll it — then save the bottle. Emptying it right at the pump is possible if it can't be shifted, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home in Wigton with AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dash had been nagging you. Bought a container, tipped it in outside the house, binned the empty — and only then checked the cap again, too late. Houses just off Market Place are caught out as often as anywhere else.
The point: no miles since leaves it nearly as good to spotting it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue settles to the base of your tank and stays there, no matter how long the night.
Keep the keys indoors overnight — or someone might take it away first thing — and phone us. Your drive is where it gets drained, be it in Wigton or Standingstone. Even at night, our pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road around Wigton with AdBlue in a diesel
Topped up, pulled away, and soon your motor was turning unevenly, smoking, down on power, or lighting up your dash. It might have been driving for Carlisle, under 15 miles away, or just along King Street.
What it means: the fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. It's been through the filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. More miles, more starts: further it travels.
Your move: pull up somewhere sensible, then turn your engine off. Wigton lies under 15 miles from the M6; there, come off at the next junction rather than pressing on for the services. It won't have cleared, and so there is no point starting it again to check. Phone, saying how far your car went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
It's a car you have had for a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is missing or elsewhere. On this one, the cap is right next to your diesel cap — news to you. Throughout Cumbria, nobody is immune.
The point: exactly as above, split by if it ran, but with an added step. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Next: phone the rental company or the fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before our arrival is quicker. Leave the car switched off while the answer arrives, whether you're waiting outside the nearest station or near Moore Memorial Fountain.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Wigton?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest as it gets. What cap was taken off, you cannot recall; meanwhile the bottle weighs lighter than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by your filler. A rushed stop by the gates of Thomlinson Junior School, or a visit to a friend in Highmoor: either fits.
The point: your motor isn't harmed by a little AdBlue splashed around the outside. Inside the diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue harms it. If there is AdBlue in the tank, starting the vehicle will pull it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Take it that it went in, and don't start the engine. Phone and give the details: we'd rather find a tank free of AdBlue than drain one once the engine has run.
The common ground in every Wigton AdBlue drain
No matter the case, one start applies. Our engineers come to your car, whether it's at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside Hare & Hounds or a side street near Wigton Youth Station, and ask three things: what went in, about how much, and if your engine has been run. Over the phone, before anything else, you are told our price, and those replies shape the work too.
A thorough flush follows this drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it is essential, because crystals form and certain metals are attacked, and none of that rinses out unaided. Your filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Where the engine hasn't been started, allow roughly half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
Last, our engineers fire it up. Before our engineers go, it is tested to make sure it runs properly on new diesel. When it's caught quickly, the car very rarely has long-term damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Wigton, for a moment
Wigton is a town situated on the banks of the River Wampool in Cumbria, with a population of around 6527 people. Wigton has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are the most common, and the town's elevation is approximately 34 metres above sea level. Wigton is located near several smaller communities, including Standingstone, Station Hill, and Western Bank, and is about 10 miles from the city of Carlisle. Wigton's riverside setting and proximity to the countryside make it a distinctive town in the region.
AdBlue drains in Wigton, and across Cumbria too
Throughout CA postcodes, the teams serving Wigton — a riverside town — work nearby places too, Station Hill and Western Bank included. A postcode starting CA7 9 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Swinegate Plantation or in a car park in the middle of Wigton, it does not need to shift. We drain the car where it stands. If you are somewhere hard to describe, near Wigton Library or close to a border, ring and ask instead of assuming.
Your scenario, in one line
Motor not started: phone, leaving it alone. Run by now: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, within Wigton or anywhere in Cumbria.