the check engine light could be a bazillion different things. tons of codes out there. i suggest you bring it over to Autozone and have them pull the code and find out what is specified.
ya, check engine lights can come on for any number of reasons. heres a good list of the codes. all of the P0XXX codes are the same for every manufacturer, but the P1XXX's can change. http://www.svtlightnings.com/scantool/ford dtc codes.htm
post the code you get, and then we can help you with the diagnosis. you need a scan tool to pull them, its not like the good old days where you could stab 1 and 2 with a paperclip and read the flashes.