Cleaning IAC valve

[lochabay]

Greetings:

I recently purchased a 1993 MX-3, SOHC 4 cyl., so am a newby to the car and to this forum. The car has an idle problem probably stemming from the iac valve. Upon cold start, the engine revs up to about 1500 rpms and gradually drops down to about 600 - a little low but that can be adjusted. The initial rpms and gradual drop tells me that the wax is melting properly in the air valve and that part of the idle system is working properly. That idle is maintained until I put some load on the system, like turning on the lights or the a/c. When I do that the idle jumps to 1200-1500 rpms and stays there. It will not drop down to normal idle until I take the load off, and then only drops to about 1000 rpms. The throttle is not sticking. Ordinarily, I would think that a sticking iac valve is a prime candidate for these symptoms, but this iac valve is not like any other I have seen. Can this valve be cleaned? If so, how?

Any help would be appreciated.