A circuit in my basement has me puzzled. When I went to replace a light fixture, with the switch (that controls two fixtures) off I touched the ground and the white and got a spark. I tested (with meter) with switch on and off and got the following results:

SWITCH OFF
White to Ground 120 vac
Black to Ground 120 vac
Black to White 0 vac

SWITCH ON
White to Ground 0 vac
Black to Ground 120 vac
Black to White 120 vac

I had done some remodeling in basement but did not replace this circuit. I did remove an outlet that was the last item in circuit. Any Ideas? Thanks.

tkrussell

I do not believe that the ground is hot. The white wire at the fixture is suppose to be neutral, and should read 120 volts between the black. Nothing should read between the neutral and the ground.

OK first need to check to be sure the switch is OFF, making sure the switch has on it marked "ON" and "OFF" that you can read, and that the switch is not upside down. I know this is silly, but it happens.

The only other thing I can think of is the switch is defective, or something is connected wrong at the switch.

Is this a single pole switch, or is there another switch set up as a 3 way switch?

colbtech

would a broken neutral (before the switch) cause this problem?