Irratic Idle speed....

[Xtreme XJ]

Hey Guys
I've got a 96 I-6 with an AW-4 that sometimes has a high
idle... normal is around 800 RPM but sometimes it up around
1050 or 1100 RPM. Am I look'n for a sensor or just lube the
throttle cable? Blipping the throttle doesn't really seem to help.
As I stated it's an intermittent problem.
Thank for any help or ideas.
Curt (aka Xtreme XJ)

[martin]

Most likely it is your idle air controller, just have your throttle body cleaned and it should be fixed.

[satan]

Could also be a symptom of the TPS or if you have a late-production of the '96 (OBDII Compliant) the it could be your PCM controlling idle to offset power loading or to accomodate charging or A/C (though typically those fluctuations should still remain under 1Krpm) --

A good look at how smooth the output from your TPS is as the throttle is opened could reveal much -- also a little inspection & PM on the charging system -- I've seen similar (though below 1Krpm) with corroded battery terminals on a '98.

A check of the pressure switch on your Power Steering (if present) could also be indicated (again though, the PCM typically will watch the RPM to "read" the load only increasing a few hundred at most...)