ADBLUE WARNING

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ADBLUE WARNING

Post by WELSHVIKING »

Hi, My wife got the adblue low warning on Friday evening , its the first time this has happened since we bought the car back in June. We took it to local Esso garage as i knew they had an adblue pump. Filled up the tank with 14.81L but now the adblue warning light will not go off. Is it a simple case of maybe us overfilling it and the light will go off when the adblue level goes down. Cannot see any other way of getting the light to reset. Forgot to add we have drove about 30 miles since we filled the urea but the light is still on. Thanks Colin
Last edited by WELSHVIKING on 02 Jan 2022, 13:35, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Unless specifically stated otherwise, adblue pumps at petrol stations are only for HGV vehicles. Because a passenger car tank is very much smaller than an HGV tank it may either damage or overfill very quickly.

You should only top up your vehicle’s adblue tank with the containers. So it’s hard to say at this point whether you’ve damaged anything inside because of the force of the pump, or whether you have a damaged or failed component inside the tank.

It will likely need to be taken to the dealer so they can run some tests on it.
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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by WELSHVIKING »

Thanks for the reply, Strange I have seen other cars filling up on that pump and also the pump is right under the canopy where a hgv would not fit. All I can tell you is the nozzle fitting perfectly in the tank and it was incredibly slow filling and I mean slow.
Last edited by WELSHVIKING on 02 Jan 2022, 17:49, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by Paul-R »

How many times have you stopped the engine and then restarted since filling up the Adblue? You may find that the car will "realise" that it's been refilled after a short while.
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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by WELSHVIKING »

Paul-R wrote: 02 Jan 2022, 17:15 How many times have you stopped the engine and then restarted since filling up the Adblue? You may find that the car will "realise" that it's been refilled after a short while.
Plenty of times Paul. just hoping when the level drops the fault will clear. I am the only one working in my house so simply cannot afford to take it to Citroen or any other garage at this present moment.
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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by admiral51 »

Hi WelshViking

I do not know exactly how the AdBlue system works on cars, i have only experienced it on a HGV's and yes it is expensive :(
However 14.8 litres maximum used since June seems a little bit low unless it is only used for short journeys.
I would get it on a Lexia for a proper fault code as the low level warning could be a generic warning for a fault within the system itself.

I agree with Marc about the AdBlue pumps for HGV's as yes they are high speed pumps but i also agree with you that yes the AdBlue pumps for cars can be a bit slower but not so slow that it takes for ever if that makes sense.
Have you still got the receipt from the garage for the AdBlue just in case it is contaminated which could block the filter/pump etc.

Sure there are members on here that know what the warning lamp could indicate other than low level.

Fingers crossed it sorts itself out.

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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by WELSHVIKING »

admiral51 wrote: 02 Jan 2022, 19:14 Hi WelshViking

I do not know exactly how the AdBlue system works on cars, i have only experienced it on a HGV's and yes it is expensive :(
However 14.8 litres maximum used since June seems a little bit low unless it is only used for short journeys.
I would get it on a Lexia for a proper fault code as the low level warning could be a generic warning for a fault within the system itself.

I agree with Marc about the AdBlue pumps for HGV's as yes they are high speed pumps but i also agree with you that yes the AdBlue pumps for cars can be a bit slower but not so slow that it takes for ever if that makes sense.
Have you still got the receipt from the garage for the AdBlue just in case it is contaminated which could block the filter/pump etc.

Sure there are members on here that know what the warning lamp could indicate other than low level.

Fingers crossed it sorts itself out.

Colin
As its the first time I have filled it I am sure I cocked up and overfilled it, it is actually only a 17L tank. My wife goes to Liverpool roughly twice a week , which is a 70 mile round trip. I just hope it sorts itself out when the level drops as I am in really problems if it does not due to money.
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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

I don't know how much you are paying for AdBlue at the pump, but Tesco will sell you 10L for £11 (in a container).
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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by WELSHVIKING »

Hell Razor5543 wrote: 02 Jan 2022, 19:31 I don't know how much you are paying for AdBlue at the pump, but Tesco will sell you 10L for £11 (in a container).
90p a litre at the pump
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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

That is a better price than containers (some petrol stations are charging more than £2 per litre if in a container), but the worrying thing about pump dispensed AdBlue is that some pumps are high pressure (as they are for HGVs), and could damage the AdBlue tank on a PSA vehicle. As these can cost over £1000 each (OUCH!) I will use the Tesco AdBlue.

The thing that really takes the p155 is that the main ingredient of AdBlue is urea. Urea is the main nitrogen containing substance in the urine of mammals. The urea in AdBlue is not (according to The AA) animal urine but a man-made substance (for reasons of quality and sterility). Still, charging £2 per litre for what is, in effect, a mix of de-ionised water and urine is a bit rich!
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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by admiral51 »

Something just does not add up in my head, the regulars on here will probably shrug their shoulders and say here he goes again :)
If we allow 10% over stated capacity then 17 litres + 10% = 18.7litres, pretty much what you put in which means the tank was empty and the AdBlue pump itself would have shut off as it does on fuel pumps, not the same as over filling using the containers.
I cannot believe that the low warning level would only come on when the tank was empty, it has to come on somewhere between 10-20% of capacity to allow the user to top it up based on recent data for what has been used and mileage driven etc.
If we say the car has been driven 200 miles a week ( 2 x round trips + local trips ) over the last 5 months then that = 4000 miles.
I would think that based on the stated capacity of 17 litres and assuming it was full when you purchased it then the low level should have come on when it had anywhere between 1.7 and 3.4 litres in tank, no way should you have been able to put in 18.8 litres.
Would like to know the official data for the rate of AdBlue injection per mile as that would tell us what should have been used.
Trouble is you bought the car in June and now you had to top up the AdBlue, no telling what a previous owner may have done to mask an AdBlue issue.

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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by WELSHVIKING »

admiral51 wrote: 02 Jan 2022, 20:20 Something just does not add up in my head, the regulars on here will probably shrug their shoulders and say here he goes again :)
If we allow 10% over stated capacity then 17 litres + 10% = 18.7litres, pretty much what you put in which means the tank was empty and the AdBlue pump itself would have shut off as it does on fuel pumps, not the same as over filling using the containers.
I cannot believe that the low warning level would only come on when the tank was empty, it has to come on somewhere between 10-20% of capacity to allow the user to top it up based on recent data for what has been used and mileage driven etc.
If we say the car has been driven 200 miles a week ( 2 x round trips + local trips ) over the last 5 months then that = 4000 miles.
I would think that based on the stated capacity of 17 litres and assuming it was full when you purchased it then the low level should have come on when it had anywhere between 1.7 and 3.4 litres in tank, no way should you have been able to put in 18.8 litres.
Would like to know the official data for the rate of AdBlue injection per mile as that would tell us what should have been used.
Trouble is you bought the car in June and now you had to top up the AdBlue, no telling what a previous owner may have done to mask an AdBlue issue.

Colin
Thanks Colin for the input, When I purchased the car in June the tank was full (not to the brim, I could see the level with a torch) as its one of the things I checked along with oil, brake fluid, washer fluid etc plus the guy did tell me he filled it so that was another reason to check to make sure. Just checked the mot and the car has done 5,300 miles since June. What I will do tomorrow is use a hand syphon and take out about 2L to see if that helps at all before I start spending money.
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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by RichardW »

The warning comes on with 1500 miles to go. Our 1.6 HDi 120 does 8000 miles on 10 litres of AB - a 2.0 will use a bit more as it's related to fuel consumption which I would expect to be bit higher, but it won't be massively out. So in 5k miles, it should have used about 6 - 7 litres. If it wasn't completely empty (i.e.you had got to not being able to start the engine) then the light should have gone straight out. Sadly my guess is that it will need a new tank.....
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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by WELSHVIKING »

RichardW wrote: 02 Jan 2022, 20:46 The warning comes on with 1500 miles to go. Our 1.6 HDi 120 does 8000 miles on 10 litres of AB - a 2.0 will use a bit more as it's related to fuel consumption which I would expect to be bit higher, but it won't be massively out. So in 5k miles, it should have used about 6 - 7 litres. If it wasn't completely empty (i.e.you had got to not being able to start the engine) then the light should have gone straight out. Sadly my guess is that it will need a new tank.....
No disrespect Richard but I honestly hope your guess is wrong :(
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Re: ADBLUE WARNING

Post by admiral51 »

I have no idea where the AB tank is located, i would guess the only way to access it is by dropping it out but there "should" be a filter within the filler neck and also a similar filter that is fitted to the fuel pump pick up.
I only know this as my HGV had to have a new pump fitted and then another one within 5 days as they didn't change/flush the system and the onboard system kept telling me there was still a problem and the cost was around £4k after lots of shouting/swearing and extra inspection of work done.

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