why my ford explore idles rough ,and engine light comes on

try a new air filter, and some good fuel injector cleaner. Also if your gas cap is bad or not on tightly, that will cause the "check engine" light to come on. It has to do with emissions, I have heard that sometimes it is the oxygen sensor, but try the other things first.

you need a shop with a scan tool to pull codes from obd1 systems. once the code is identified, you can investigate the failed system to determine the failure. Roy