Mixing diesel with your gas car can cause serious issues. You might experience engine misfires and unpleasant odors.
Diesel fuel has lower octane than gasoline, meaning that its flash temperature will drop significantly and have devastating repercussions for your vehicle.
1. Engine Stalls
Diesel is thicker and denser than gasoline, making it difficult for it to travel throughout a gas engine efficiently. Furthermore, its fuel pump was never intended to handle it effectively either; any amount that makes its way into your engine could clog up both filters and injectors, potentially leading to engine stalling or substantial engine damage.
Unfortunately, this situation is uncommon. But should it happen to you, the first thing to do is take your car for a drive to try to diagnose and address any potential issues.
Finding out why your vehicle stalls can be tricky, but by pinpointing its source you’ll be one step closer to solving it. Common causes of stalling issues include bad ISC (idle speed control), low fuel pressure, ignition issues or vacuum or EGR leakage issues – among others.
ISC systems regulate how much air passes by the throttle by controlling how much it bypasses, with a valve located within the throttle body. If this valve becomes clogged up with fuel varnish or dirt, its functionality will become impaired and cause engine stalling when closing throttle.
Check for ISC problems by connecting a vacuum gauge to the intake manifold and measuring how much vacuum it requires to keep your engine running at idle. If this value falls below 18 to 22 inches of mercury at idle, there could be issues with the ISC system.
An additional factor contributing to engine stalling can be a worn ignition switch. An imperfectly working ignition switch can jingle back and forth while running, disorienting fuel delivery, air intake, and spark supply systems and potentially leading to engine stalling.
Faulty fuel pumps can deprive an engine of the necessary fuel supply, leading to engine stalling issues. Therefore, it is crucial that before replacing one you perform diagnostic tests and identify its cause as well as identify any related stalling issues.
Additionally, factors that may cause an engine to stall include a defective battery, a worn out metering block gasket or an inadequate intake or exhaust system. All such issues must be investigated professionally as they could potentially cause extensive damage to the vehicle.
2. Engine Misfires
At an unattentive gas station, it can be easy to mix diesel with your gasoline-powered car’s tank – creating an unsafe situation and possibly leading to engine damage.
Modern engines are complex systems composed of many moving parts working in sync to produce optimal performance, meaning any one part or system failing can cause misfires that range from simply lighting the check engine light all the way through to total engine failure.
Engine misfire is most frequently caused by spark plugs that do not transmit enough electricity to ignite an air-fuel mixture, often due to worn-out electrodes or deposits that prevent them from emitting strong enough sparks to light it off.
Misfires typically result in the Check Engine light illuminated and recording an Fault Code to indicate which cylinder(s) are misfiring incorrectly. Once identified, using OBD II computer testing and diagnostic techniques you can easily diagnose this misfire and restore normal power delivery to all of them.
If the Check Engine light is illuminated and your engine features temperature gauges in each exhaust manifold port, check each cylinder’s temperatures individually; if any are cooler than others it could indicate it is misfiring and require attention.
Step two is to conduct a full fuel system inspection. This involves looking out for leaks or inadequate delivery of fuel to individual cylinders, checking pressure in fuel lines and pumps as well as measuring overall system integrity.
As part of its role, regular fuel system inspection can reveal failing components that impede proper delivery to cylinders and may affect engine performance negatively. If your engine’s performance begins deteriorating rapidly, some components in its fuel system may need replacement – in such an instance it would be wise to consult a professional automotive technician about what you need.
If you’re experiencing issues with your vehicle, consulting a mechanic who can identify and address them may be beneficial. Diagnostic tools such as scanners can quickly pinpoint its source before providing solutions to address misfire issues.
3. Engine Smoke
Imagine you’re driving your gas-powered car down the highway when suddenly, without warning, you realize you have put diesel in its place. Unfortunately, your time constraints don’t allow for much investigation; so, in an attempt to continue your journey safely, you keep driving until it can be rectified.
Imagine arriving at a BP station on Troy Pike in Huber Heights and pulling up to their diesel pump nozzle – but then realizing that its handle is green instead.
Unfortunately, you aren’t alone in this experience. Reports emerged over the weekend of people visiting BP stations who mistakenly filled their gasoline cars with diesel.
Do not attempt to overheat your engine as this can be hazardous and cause significant engine damage. There are a few measures you can take to help prevent this from occurring.
One way of doing so is ensuring you pay close attention when at the pump, whether for an electric or gas vehicle. There should usually be an indication of which fuel type you’re using at each station.
As an example, many pumps feature stickers indicating which fuel they dispense (gas vs diesel). You can also look at the pump nozzle to see which type of fuel it’s dispensing.
If your exhaust pipe is emitting smoke, it could indicate an issue. Smoke could come from various causes – excess oil burning in the engine, repairs to be done on the turbo or an issue with your PCV valve are among them.
Smoke from an excessively-rich fuel mixture often causes this issue. Other potential sources include leaking injectors, bad air filters or defective pressure regulators.
As this can be a dangerous situation, it is wise to pull over and turn off your car immediately before further harm occurs. All passengers should also exit as quickly as possible to prevent toxic fumes from leaking into the cabin and sparking fires. If unsure, call in a mechanic for professional diagnosis of the issue.
4. Engine Damage
Mistaking diesel for gasoline in your vehicle is a costly error that can seriously harm its engine over time, so it’s wise to refrain from making this error.
Diesel fuel was never intended to run in a gasoline engine and can quickly cause extensive and expensive repairs if used inappropriately, known as misfueling. If this does happen to you, misfueling repairs could cost a small fortune just to bring back your engine to its former condition.
If you have ever visited a gas station, chances are you have seen the nozzles for diesel (green) and gasoline (black), designed to prevent you from mistakenly filling up with the wrong type of fuel for your car.
As you’ll notice, diesel nozzles tend to be larger than gasoline ones – this makes it harder for drivers to accidentally pour diesel into their gas car by accident.
But if you do manage to mix diesel and gasoline cars together, here is what will happen:
As soon as your engine starts up, it may make some strange sounds due to incombustibility of diesel fuel. Your vehicle may move a few miles before coming to an abrupt halt and becoming inoperable.
Once your vehicle’s engine has stopped running, it is best to switch it off immediately to allow its cooling process before any more damage occurs.
Keep in mind that diesel is significantly thicker than gasoline, preventing it from easily passing through your car’s fuel filter and creating blockages and damaging it, which is an additional complication.
Clogged injectors in your vehicle pose another major threat; if this clogging cannot be removed quickly enough, its effect can cause irreparable engine damage.
If you have accidentally put diesel into a gas car, the best course of action would be calling a tow truck and having your vehicle taken to an auto repair shop where they will drain and clean out your fuel tank so as to minimize engine damage further.
