What Happens Now: Petrol in a Diesel Car in Ballycastle
Whatever you do, never switch the engine on, even for a moment, to move the vehicle. Pause; leave the car off. Cleared then rinsed, right where it is: that is usually all an unrun diesel with petrol in it takes. Whether it stays that simple rests on the minutes to come far more than on everything else. Wherever you are around Ballycastle, this is the order things go from now.
Petrol in a diesel? What to do in minute one
First, the following — in this order.
- The keys out of the ignition. Switching the ignition on can be all it takes to prime the system, and priming draws petrol out of the tank towards the parts it damages. Leave the car off completely.
- No diesel on top. More fuel in removes none of that petrol — it just leaves you with extra of the same blend.
- Being seen comes before the rest near moving traffic: put the hazard lights on, and only then deal with anything else.
- By hand, never on the motor: that's how it comes off the petrol pump. Ask the forecourt attendants to help you roll, whatever the miles.
- Keep the till receipt. It says which fuel was put in and roughly how much, which is the first thing we will ask.
On the M77, over 50 miles from Ballycastle, the next junction is the location to come off; elsewhere, the first safe location to stop. Don't press on to the services. Then go back to step one.
The fork in every Ballycastle fuel drain: has it run yet?
Everything after this point depends on one answer.
If it has never been started:
- Only your tank has petrol in it for now.
- Usually it's emptied and cleaned just where your car is.
- Being here is the best case — which is the whole point of step one.
Run at all, even for a second:
- Some petrol has left the tank already, gone through the filter, and reached your lines.
- Run it further and that petrol reaches your injectors, having gone through the pump first.
- Lines flushed, your filter seen to, occasionally more: the job expands as the distance does.
Diesel keeps your high-pressure pump and your injectors protected as it runs through them. Petrol offers them nothing, and that is why the line is drawn there. A tank of petrol, left still, damages nothing. Pump the petrol, though, and it wears the very parts that move it.
Ballycastle, petrol in a diesel: have these ready before you call
Whether the technician goes round or finds you depends on a little preparation.
- Where you have stopped. A postcode starting BT54 6 is the best place to start.
- Wherever you have pulled up, the road's name is useful — whether that's B843 or somewhere else — and so does the name of a car park.
- Or the nearest landmark. A car park is quicker to find by what it serves, such as the one outside the local shops.
- Make and model of the car, and the fact it is a diesel.
- Say which was put in — petrol or AdBlue — because AdBlue is a different job, with a page of its own for Ballycastle.
- The amount: the receipt's litres, or else how long you held the nozzle in.
- The distance it covered, and how heavily, if it has run at all.
- Sort who has your car before our engineers turn up: some hire or company contracts want the owner to approve this work, and doing it quicker beforehand.
Then phone 0333 366 0103. If it can wait — your car is at home and going nowhere — does the trick too.
Ballycastle fuel drain on its way? While you wait
Help, however well meant, is what does the damage whilst you wait. So hold to these.
- Where the vehicle has stopped settles where you wait. Exposed: away from it, away from the traffic. Sensible: with it. Either way, safety before your car.
- Nobody — however kind — starts it, whether to see if it runs or to move the vehicle a short way.
- No additives. Two-stroke oil, injector cleaner, something from your boot — none of it gets the petrol back out.
- Emptying it yourself is out: a can of siphoned petrol on a verge is a danger, and the fuel beyond that tank remains put all the same.
- Not for your radio, not for the windows: your ignition remains off.
When our van arrives: the fuel drain, step by step
- First, three queries: which fuel was put in, the quantity, and has it run? Those replies shape the job, so our price follows them.
- The tank is emptied. The contaminated blend comes out of that tank.
- If it ran, your lines are holding petrol that has moved beyond that tank — so they are cleaned.
- Cleared, or swapped if the car has a workable one: the filter is seen to next.
- The fuel system is primed with fresh diesel.
- The start-up. With fresh diesel in and the system bled, it's fired up and checked to be sure it runs correctly.
Only when it is running on clean diesel do our engineers leave. The car returns to normal driving right away, and lasting damage is very uncommon if it has been caught soon.
After the fuel drain: back on the road in Ballycastle
- Once it has been started on fresh fuel, there's nothing special to do: drive normally.
- Pull over and ring us back if anything seems wrong early on — a light on the dash, smoke from your exhaust, an idle that is lumpy, or a throttle with a dead spot.
- Keep the documents. A hire firm, a fleet manager or an insurer may ask what was carried out.
- Next time, go by the petrol pump's label instead of the colour of its handle.
About Ballycastle
Ballycastle is a small coastal town in County Antrim, situated on the north-eastern coast of Northern Ireland, with Ballycastle being a popular base for exploring the surrounding countryside. Ballycastle sits at an elevation of 36 metres, looking out over the sea, and Ballycastle is close to several nearby villages, including Ballyvoy and Capecastle. Ballycastle has a population of around 5628 people, with Ballycastle being characterised by predominantly detached housing.
Fuel drains across Ballycastle and nearby
Petrol in diesel calls around Ballycastle and in Ballyvoy, Capecastle or Portbraddon all go to the same teams, which reach most of County Antrim as well. Ring and ask rather than guessing if you're somewhere hard to describe or near a border.
Ring, and leave the car off — petrol in a diesel across County Antrim
Petrol in Diesel takes it from there — on your driveway, by the roadside, at the forecourt — once you've done stage one: keys out, engine off, receipt in your pocket.