AdBlue. Any tips?
We've just bought a new motorhome on a Fiat Ducato base and it requires AdBlue. I've read the manual and some information on the Internet, so I understand how it works and that you mustn't run out of it or the engine won't start until you refill the tank. Does anyone have any experience or advice about the practicalities? We thought that we would buy a Halfords AdBlue starter pack which is 4 litres and keep that in the motorhome to be prepared for when the warning light comes on! Any thoughts?
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BB is right. Fiat Ducato engines do not use AdBlue and never have. The Iveco engine range does. Peugeot based motorhomes do.
https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motorhomes/news/fiat-launches-euro-vi-engines-for-ducato
If your engine is not a Fiat and uses AdBlue, the only thing you need to worry about is putting adblue into the fuel tank or vice versa. Make sure you fill the right tank. AdBlue is available in most garages. If you motorhome say 6,000 miles a year, you should not run out of AdBlue although you should replace every year.
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Thanks for your replies BB and Aspenshaw but I really wasn't asking whether our Fiat Ducato Hobby T60H uses AdBlue, because I know that it does. It has a tank with a filler cap next to the diesel filler cap and it tells us all about it in the owners handbook and everything!
Does anyone have any practical advice for me because driving an engine that uses AdBlue is new to me?
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Camperval, I don't know if the following may help but here goes.
AdBlue will give a cleaner exhaust but will have no effect on the vehicle's operation unless it runs out in which case the engine will stop. This is to prevent the vehicle being driven contrary to its emission rating.
A tank full of AdBlue will normally last for at least the recommended service intervals for your vehicle. Of course, this depends on the size of the tank.
The warning light for the AdBlue tank should illuminate well before it runs out and your handbook should tell you how long a warning you will get.
Always believe your handbook or instructions, or do your own research from reliable authenticated sources.
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I have no knowledge of what happens with M/H's but when at work a large part of our fleet of buses had Ad blue systems fitted to B&C series Cummins engines, (as fitted in many USA large RV's) running out did not stop the engine from running but did put the MIL light on (Malfunction Indicator Lamp) which is an amber warning on the dash display.
A refill and after something like six ignition on / off cycles would result it the warning lamp then switching off again. There was the odd case where we needed to read the DTC's with the diagnostic tools and reset them, but no damage can occur from running out of Ad Blue, you are simply not meeting your vehicles legal emissions requirements. Hope this is the sort of answer you are looking for.
As a foot note, I think what has been said about your engine will stop is possibly incorrect, I would have thought it would be more the case that it wouldn't restart after being switched off if the Ad Blue has run out if that is what the manufacture has programmed in to the system?
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Hi Camperval, AdBlue is a urea based additive to reduce emissions and like you my vehicle will not start if it runs out. I know from experience, due to a defective system, that this does happen. As said most supermarkets now sell it on the filling station forecourt, often in 10 litre size, and my vehicle countdown starts at 1500 miles so you will hopefully have plenty of warning. If you venture abroad it is more widely available than here so no problems on that front.
When I got my fist vehicle with it the salesman couldn't even tell me what it was! As for how long it will last that entirely depends on driving style but most systems should last the stated mileage recommended between services.
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Thanks everyone, I think I can relax about it now! Our main worry was availability and if we would get stuck if it ran out, but the manual states that the warning light should come on when we have 1200km range. I must say have never noticed it at service stations but then I had no knowledge of its existence until I saw the filler cap next to the diesel filler cap when we filled up with diesel for the first time! Our salesman didn't mention it to us when we picked up our new motorhome, so it's been a steep learning curve for us. (There were a few things he didn't explain actually!)
What I have learned is that you should read the owner's handbook, and the motorhome handbook, tedious as they are.
Talking of handbooks, ours states that the first service is at 30,000miles which seems rather long. I imagine the AdBlue won't last that long. Any thoughts?
Thanks again and happy camping!
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It proves the worth of that old saying "If all else fails, read the instructions".
Enjoy your van.
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"Talking of handbooks, ours states that the first service is at 30,000miles which seems rather long. I imagine the AdBlue won't last that long. Any thoughts?"
Once you have done a couple of thousand miles just top it up and note how much it takes. you can then judge what your going to use over a given mileage and if you think it's going to fall short of the 30k, refill in between.
Try not to spill any as it will leave a white crystallized stain around the filler neck and wherever else it ends up.
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"firstly, the Fiat Ducato does not need AdBlue
, Fiat engines acheive Euro 6 without this."Good one, BB. I'm really glad you weren't casting doubts
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Our new van (Peugeot/Citroen Euro 6 engine) uses Adblue and claims that it will do about 8000miles on a 15 litre tankful however not 8000 miles before needing filling. In preparation for a long European trip (sadly now cancelled) I bought a10ltr bottle of Adblue including filler for £14 from Halfords. There may be other and/or cheaper suppliers but that was the most convenient. If your vehicle has 30,000miles between service intervals then you will probably trigger a service by time rather than mileage. The industry reckons most motor homers wont do enough miles to need to fill up between services (around 5000-6000 miles from full since the Adblue should never be allowed to run out) but I think a significant number will.
AFAIK it is not practicable to use truck Adblue dispensers to fill up a small vehicle at filling stations for technical reasons. Perhaps in time filling stations in the UK will have van/car Adblue pumps. I don't know if these already exist in Europe but the best plan seems to be to leave UK with a full tank.
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Course not.
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Phone the dealer you bought it from and take professional advice?
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Then there are some makes that need ad blue and even the main dealerships do not know, some friends of ours have a Volvo soft top and had a starting problem that the dealership workshop were unable to trace,and after Volvo HO got involved it was found it had run out of ad blue (serviced a month before)
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Fiat have made much of the fact in most motorhome journals that the Euro 6 Ducato does not use Adblue. So, what we have here is an anomaly/ exception. For some reason Hobby has chosen a chassis not normally used for motorhomes. As it is the people carrier chassis that requires Adblue I am guessing that is what they have used. People carriers obviously need lots of seat belt anchorage points so i would expect that it is the platform cab in use here. Nothing new there as they have been used before on motorhomes, mainly if not exclusively, by continental converters. A platform cab has a metal floor on which to build the body on.
Everyday is a school day.0 -
Apologies for doubting you Camperval and hope that my other comments helped. This is the first time I've heard of any Fiat Ducato commercial van or motorhome needing AdBlue until the emissions tests change again. We can all learn!
Best wishes for your motorhoming journeys.
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Reading the handbook might reveal that like my Disco you can easily access the "service" pages on the dash and see how many miles of AdBlue is remaining?
I certainly would not be worrying about it, indeed as a means of addressing NOx reduction IMO it is far easier to live with than exhaust gas recirculation has proved in all the cars we have run with that technology. I know the technologies are used in combination with each other, but anything to reduce the amount of EGR needed the better in my book.
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Hi all,
I have a hobby T70ge, 16 plate,150 and you dont need ad blue. the filler is blanked off.
mike
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AFAIK it is not practicable to use truck Adblue dispensers to fill up a small vehicle at filling stations for technical reasons. Perhaps in time filling stations in the UK will have van/car Adblue pumps. I don't know if these already exist in Europe but the best plan seems to be to leave UK with a full tank.
Hi BVM, As I said in my post you will find AdBlue widely available 'sur le continent' but in the quantities that you would get here-up to 10 litres- not via a pump as you don't need that volume unless you are a truck.............and I am not going to make any comment about MHs at this point!
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I appreciate that Adblue has been around for years in trucks and that the quantities which they use are much greater hence the need for a pump. However on our planned trip of around 6000 miles we would very likely have needed to top up (and thus source or from the start carry ) Adblue. One local branch of Halfords said they were selling 400 bottles a week.
Carrying an extra 10 litre container in our smallish van for all or part of the journey) would be slightly inconvenient but by no means impossible hence my question whether in Continental Europe it was available on draught for small vehicles. I am sure this will come and Germany will probably be the first to implement it.
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Camperval - just to put your mind at rest, I was also slightly concerned when I got my new Touareg, two years ago which also uses Adblue. I bought a filler pipe (about £10 on line) and always keep a 10 litre container at home - which are readily available from bigger filling stations. I get about 6000 miles on a tankful before the warning message comes on - but that gives me 2500 miles notice. It's about a ten minute job the fill the tank but I also get the dealer to top it up at service time. It needs doing so infrequently, that I have virtually forgotten about it!
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