Engine malfunction light

[Chucky341]

Hello I got a ford mondeo 2010 1.8

about 1 month ago as i  work nights I let work as I normally do in the morning I was driving down the duel carriageway doin about 70  my  Engine  malfunction light come on so I slow down the. It went off so I went home ever since then it ain't come back on till today   Driving to work just join the Duel carriageway doin about 50 it come on again I am goin to get it check tomorrow but it still runs fine it twice only come on whe. The car bin sitting they with out moving for a few hours 

 

any ideas 

[Tdci-Peter]

2 hours ago, Chucky341 said:

 my  Engine  malfunction light come on

There a 100s of reasons for this light to come on. The only way to start to locate the problem is to use a code reader. Basic OBD2 code readers are really cheap, safe and easy to use. One will pay for itself many times over. They will all read most standard engine related error codes.

I use an old, and Very basic U480 self contained reader for engine codes, and Forscan on a laptop with an ELM327 for more complex & Ford specific jobs.

[pragmatix]

Forscan is your friend, free to download, you will need to buy an ELM327 connectors 

[Chucky341]

Well Someone I know who done the code reading for me he charge me £30 it came back as 

p120f high pressure regulator ( excessive variation)

he told me to book it in with car wood to get it check again as then is three different things it could be so I got that book in for tomorrow 

 

i had a look on eBay for that code reader it about £10 which is good but if it don't point to one  Pacific part   It don't really help 

[Tdci-Peter]

7 hours ago, Chucky341 said:

i had a look on eBay for that code reader it about £10 which is good but if it don't point to one  Pacific part   It don't really help 

It can help!

DTCs can point to a specific part, but sometimes not, and can even be a little misleading. But there are people on forums like this one, who have seen these DTCs, or can identify faults from them. But without this starting point, finding most faults on a modern car engine is a guessing game with chance of success little better than a lottery!

For P120F, my money (all 50p of it!) is on the IMV (Inlet Metering Valve). That is the valve, built in to the diesel fuel pump that controls the volume flow, and hence the rail pressure. Other possibilities are the rail pressure transducer, the pressure regulator valve, or the wiring and connectors to these devices. Your description of the symptoms does sound like an intermittent electrical bad contact.

Less likely is the fuel pump itself, or the injectors. Though a blocked fuel filter, or air leaking in to the fuel system can not be entirely ruled out!

So this DTC is a bit general, but at least it does point to a fuel system fault.