Steady‐state plasma turbulence and the formation of negative potential spikes and double layers in the presence of ion acoustic instabilities have been studied by means of one‐dimensional particle simulations in which the velocities of a small fraction of electrons are replaced by the initial drifting Maxwellian at a constant rate. A steady state is found where negative potential spikes appear randomly in space and time giving rise to an anomalous resistivity much greater than previously found. Comparisons of the simulation results with laboratory and space plasmas are discussed.