contaminated fuel

[jennifer78]

I bought a 2021 t6.1 TDI340 LWB 110kw DSG7 van back in April. I'd an incident 3 weeks ago on the 6th December, whereby Ad Blue was accidently put into diesel tank. Upon realising the error I knew immediately not to try & start the van. I got a tow truck to take it straight to a VW dealership. They drained the fuel tank & topped up with 25 litres of diesel & I was able to pick the van up the next day. All good as far as I was aware. I filled up with 75 litres of diesel on the 8th December & van was going fine. Then on the 14th December I tried to start the van & it wouldn't start. I called Roadside Assistance for a technician to come out to have a look at it. He told me that the fuel was not getting to the engine for whatever reason & as the van was not able to be started I arranged a tow truck to take it back again to same VW dealership as before. First thing I was asked by service guy was did I put petrol in the tank by mistake. I replied I'm 100% certain it was diesel & had a receipt to prove it. They showed me a sample of what they allegedly taken from the fuel tank & told me they reckon there was unleaded fuel in it.

Anyways with it being this crazy time of year they're swamped with doing services for their customers & told me there was practically no chance I'd get my van back before Christmas. I asked the service manager earlier a few days ago if they had sent a sample of the contaminated fuel off to be analysed but he replied no. I went to VW 24th December to see what was happening & by chance they were working on the van at the time. I waited there until they had finished & service guy then tells me they drained the fuel tank, flushed out the engine, replaced filters & topped up with diesel again & then tried to start the van. But of course it wouldn't start! So now they tell me they're going to look at it again on Wednesday 29th December & investigate further. I'm still waiting for the service station to send me a technician's report of the diesel fuel there. I can only hope that this report confirms one way or another if the diesel was contaminated.

So I'm wondering is it commonplace for these service guys to not send a fuel sample away for analysis? Maybe I'm being paranoid but for all I know there couldv'e been a stuff up made the week before after the Ad Blue incident & now they are trying to cover it up. Without any verification of the apparent contamination of the fuel they allege was taken from the tank how can they be so certain about the actual cause of this in the first place? Any thoughts or ideas as to what could be at fault would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks. Jennifer

 

[Loz]

Seems unlikely to have 2 such fuel incidents, maybe it wasn’t done properly the first time?

if it wasn’t started it is just a remove tank, drain and wipe it out and refit and put 5l diesel back in.
you won’t know if they ran it by mistake (putting it into the workshop )

 

[dubber36]

Also, I'd say that running the tank to nearly empty after they put 25 litres in following draining the tank has contributed. You say you put 75 litres in. I would have not let it get below half full for at least 5 fill ups to keep progressively diluting the first contaminated mixture.

 

[Paynewright]

Also the VW garage should know opening the drivers door primes the fuel pump. So even though you had the presence of mind not to start it, if the drivers door was opened and closed a few times getting it to the garage, it could have sucked the adblue through the system.

If I ever mis-fuel I’ll be getting in from the passenger side!

Good luck with the repair.

 

[Ayjay]

My wife filled her then three week old diesel Honda Civic with petrol a few years ago and then drove it for a while before the engine started playing up. When she got home and told me that there was something wrong with the car, the first thing that I did was take the filler cap off and have a good sniff. The smell of petrol was very obvious over the diesel.

 

[Dave A]

Also the VW garage should know opening the drivers door primes the fuel pump. So even though you had the presence of mind not to start it, if the drivers door was opened and closed a few times getting it to the garage, it could have sucked the adblue through the system.

If I ever mis-fuel I’ll be getting in from the passenger side!

Good luck with the repair.

I didn't know that about the drivers door. A great tip that I hope I never need to use. Do you know if it's the same on other VAG vehicles? We have a Skoda Kodiaq 2L diesel as well as the T6.

 

[Paynewright]

I didn't know that about the drivers door. A great tip that I hope I never need to use. Do you know if it's the same on other VAG vehicles? We have a Skoda Kodiaq 2L diesel as well as the T6.

Its only what I read on the forum. Since reading I have noticed a buzz/hum when the door is opened. Pretty sure SWMBOs Octavia petrol does it too - I’ll double check and report back!

 

[Dave A]

Its only what I read on the forum. Since reading I have noticed a buzz/hum when the door is opened. Pretty sure SWMBOs Octavia petrol does it too - I’ll double check and report back!

Thanks. I'll give the Kodiaq a try as well.

 

[mmi]

Literally hands-on by @Dellmassive

Transporter Fuel pump

Hi guys. Does anyone know if I should be able to heard a fuel pump whirr on my 2011 2.0tdi transporter when the ignition is turned on? All is silent and I have a fuel related issue I think

www.t6forum.com

A VCDS data capture

Transporter Fuel pump

I have a similar problem when starting the engine for the first time in a while. Battery ok, starter ok but… my lift pump is only running when testing with OBDeleven but not otherwise (driver door opening, key turning, etc.) Both fuses in the fuse box B ok but changed. faulty relay?

www.t6forum.com

My T6 humms for a moment when A door is opened. I believe it's an electric coolant pump. But definitely not the fuel lift pump on mine - it's another very distinctive sound.

 

[Mooncat]

I think the driver's door being opened triggers the glow plugs to heat up on the diesels and the fuel pump to prime on petrols.

 

[mmi]

the glow plugs

I'm quite confident on T6 it's ignition ON that triggers a glow plug pre-heat. Start of cranking then triggers another "mode" - based on a VCDS data captures
1) Current draw pre/on/post cranking

Which Jump Starter?

Advice required. Hi guys - I thought it would be prudent to carry one of those small JumpStarter powerpacks about with me as I have an electric lift seat installed for my better half and am a little concerned that with the extra demands on the van battery I might get caught out one wintery...

www.t6forum.com

2) Glow status as reported by the engine pre/on/post cranking

Transporter Fuel pump

I have a similar problem when starting the engine for the first time in a while. Battery ok, starter ok but… my lift pump is only running when testing with OBDeleven but not otherwise (driver door opening, key turning, etc.) Both fuses in the fuse box B ok but changed. faulty relay?

www.t6forum.com

fuel pump to prime on petrols

The coding on T6 petrol (+a few other petrol codings) indeed suggests that.

Stop/start Doing Your Head In? Disabling It - How We Done It -

Just disabled it via vcds. In the latest update of it (20 something, might have worked in previous as well) you can find it (forgot where though :p) and simply disable it. Perhaps you could share files CodingLog.CSV and AdpLog.CSV from the folder C:\Ross-Tech\VCDS\Debug please?

www.t6forum.com

 

[DXX]

It’s simple enough to find water (adblue is mainly water) in oil or fuel.
1. Water finding paste, available online.
2. Hot plate test, steam will be produced if water is present, catch the condensate on a clean cold surface.
A lab test is further required to provide evidence for legal purposes and to determine the % / ppm of contamination.

From a DIY point of view petrol in Diesel can easily be detected by the smell and a careful outside flame test, petrol will readily ignite, Diesel won’t. Use a small sample!
Again a lab test is required to provide % / ppm contamination.

 

[Broadside]

you won’t know if they ran it by mistake (putting it into the workshop

This is a bit of a nightmare scenario, it could easily have been started by accident but would the dealership admit that, I very much doubt it.

Does VCDS log start cycles and engine run periods? This would be useful to prove if they ran it by accident. My BM2 battery monitor logs every start cycle which would be really handy evidence in this situation.

 

[jennifer78]

Also the VW garage should know opening the drivers door primes the fuel pump. So even though you had the presence of mind not to start it, if the drivers door was opened and closed a few times getting it to the garage, it could have sucked the adblue through the system.

If I ever mis-fuel I’ll be getting in from the passenger side!

Good luck with the repair.

Oh wow! I'd absolutely no idea the fuel pump could be primed by opening & closing the door a few times. I'll hopefully get more information from them on Wednesday. Thanks

 

[Merryman]

For what it's worth, have you a friend or ask a mechanic to accompany you when you go back. My wife always gets the dumb blond treatment from mechanics and garages etc.
Also pen and paper, start a paper trail. Log and write everything, keep a diary in the service book. More is done to vehicles than out of the service than within the service, receipts are just a reminder and not of the cause for the receipts, several years on and can't remember every thing.
Some years ago, put petrol in the diesel. Usual performance of draining and filling, went back to the service station, and explained etc. Sainsbury's admitted that they had had a prankster who was swopping the nozzle's, for a laugh. Always double check the handles now. Good luck.

 

[Loz]

Oh wow! I'd absolutely no idea the fuel pump could be primed by opening & closing the door a few times. I'll hopefully get more information from them on Wednesday. Thanks

I think we determined that the T6 doesn’t do this, but easy to turn the ignition on to release the steering lick and that might do it.

 

[DXX]

I doubt the recovery truck driver really cares either way, whatever was quickest at the time.