Irratic Idle speed....

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)

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

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...)