When I bought the car, a funnel was in the boot, which the seller claimed has to be used when filling up the car.
I put some petrol in on the day I bought it with the funnel. But last night I completely filled the car, without using the funnel.
Now the orange solid engine light is on. Hoping it’s due to be nit using the funnel. Anyone have any experience with this?
There’s likely a problem with the EVAP system, or fuel filling. The clue is needing to use a funnel to put gas in it.
The Check Engine Light which is on now likely has a code stored telling you what the problem is. My guess is it’s related to the EVAP system, and the previous owner chose not to get it fixed. Now it’s your problem, since you bought the car.
Take it to a mechanic, have them read the code. Go from there. Good luck.
If your Focus has a “capless” fuel tank, the funnel is only necessary when adding gas from a gas can or adding fuel supplements, ie Techron, SeaFoam, type products. The funnel is not required when filling the car from a gas pump.
Neither would cause your light, follow Leadhed75’s advice.
If your car has a gas cap, there is the possibility you did not get the cap tight or the cap is worn out.
You can also get the code read at an auto parts store. Call ahead to make sure their code reader is working. Take a photo of the codes and post them here. Maybe we can help you make sense of them.
That is excellent advice–providing that auto parts stores in the OP’s nation provide that service. I suspect that he lives in The UK and I don’t know whether auto parts stores over there can do such things, but he should certainly look into that possibility.
My guess is the prior owner had the problem commonly reported here of the pump shutting off before the tank was full. The pump automatically shuts off when the pressure in tank’s airspace reaches a set limit during a fill-up. That limit is reached too soon during a fill-up if the evap canister & associated evap valves aren’t working correctly. The funnel allowed a complete fill-up, b/c it wasn’t a tight fit to the filler tube, and allowed the built-up pressure to escape. (btw, this would probably be illegal in the USA.)
OP, did the pump shut off too soon when you didn’t use the funnel? If it did, then why did the CEL turn on when the funnel wasn’t used? I’m guessing the car’s computer has a way of measuring the pressure, and it got too high during the fill-up sans funnel. As mentioned above, no need to guess, if CEL is on there is at least one diagnostic code in the drivetrain computer memory. Ask your shop to retrieve the code and post it here for more ideas. You could also search this forum for posts about the pump shutting off too soon. Search link upper right this page.
Just checking but you are not adding gas with the engine running are you?