Also, can anyone tell me why a missing ground at some point in the circuit between the breaker box and the receptacle in question can give this type of reading. Thanks again!

Sorry, my first part of sentence should read:

"...I have voltage reading on overhead lights hot-ground and neutral-ground"

How are you measuring the voltage? It is possible you are seeing an induced or phantom voltage that has no associated current. Proximity testers and digital VOMs will pickup this type of reading. Using a "Wiggy" or placing a load on the circuit then reading with a VOM will give you a better idea of whether there is true voltage or not.

What tool are you reading this voltage? A digital volt meter will often give a false reading of around 50 volts due to induced voltage. If you connect a light bulb to the cicrcuit and measure the voltage, you'll see it drop to zero. As suggested use, a solenoid type tester ("Wiggy" is brand name used commonly for this type of tester much like Kleenex is used for facial tissue) a number of companies make a similar product (Square D, Klein, Ideal).

Here is a link that might be useful: Wiggy

Thanks for the replies,

I'm not using a DVM, just one of those cheap receptacle testers (light comes on if 110 or 220 is detected). The way I found out about this was while I changed one of the overhead lights I got shocked. I also connected the overhead light to ground and neutral as well as ground and hot and it lit while the switch was off. Funny thing is, when I got shocked it didn't feel like 110 volts, although I can try again and check :). Thanks again for any reply.

I do think there is current, the light bulb is being lit.

Hi,

Just to update I checked another circuit and it doesn't have these problems. I noticed that to this circuit there is a green cable which includes ground, all other circuits seem to have the aluminum covered wire without ground, these circuits have this problem. I can't see much since most of its covered with drywall.

I found a DVM and did a test on one of the circuits. One of the drops (for an overhead light) I probed the ground and neutral, and something weird happened. The other lights that were on the same circuit went on. This burned out the fuse in my DVM (luckily I have another fuse which I replaced). Any help or pointers would be appreciated!

Forgot to add, when I performed the test the switch was in off state.

I am really wondering if this is a problem at all in terms of safety. Everything otherwise works fine, lights turn on and off. But as far as I can tell it maybe a problem if the house is up for sale and an inspector checks the electrical.

"The other lights that were on the same circuit went on. This burned out the fuse in my DVM (luckily I have another fuse which I replaced)."

You really sound like you are in over your head.

The only way to blow a fuse in a DVM is to have it on the wrong setting while measuring voltage, either current or resistance settings will blow the fuse when you probe a voltage.

The only setting you should be using is AC voltage.
Nothing else.

Hi brikeyee, you are right. I remember I had the DVM set to measure AC current rather then AC voltage. This was more of an accident as a result of added up confusion rather then intentional.

Do you have any suggestions regarding the issue I have?

I would really appreciate that, thanks!

I suspect this is simply the result of the design itself.

Okay, I solved the problem. Basically what I did is take one of the circuits at the breaker box and switch the neutral and hot around after it revealed the solution. I did the same for the rest of the circuits. I drew up some schematics and it seems that the problem lies at the switches. The switches are not cutting off the positive voltage, instead the negative. The testing confirms that if the neutral is cut off positive (hot) line will still have voltage between neutral and ground at the receptacle (the light), while cutting off the positive voltage would reveal the inverse of that (ie: normal with no voltage when the positive is cut off at the switch).

There is no positive and negative voltage in AC circuits. And you should not be switching hots and neutrals around in the panel... you are setting yourself up for more problems.

I have to agree with Brick... you are in over your head. It is time to call in someone more knowledgeable.

The problem is fixed (everything is supposed to be the way it is)

I agree there is no positive and negative voltage. I realize neutral is basically ground. The AC current measurement was entirely accidental. I know enough about electricity to know at minimal whats good and whats bad, such as ohm's law, the laws of series and parallel circuits. Obviously I'm not an electrician, so my terminology is offset (is there an edit function on these forums?).

I would have appreciated some expert advice, obviously I came to the wrong place. Instead, two users claimed I wasn't using the right measurement tool, the next caught me making a wrong move and basically called me a moron, the fourth repeated the third.

Thanks anyways! Won't be coming back here, ban me now!

tookien1-
I was reading the responses and thinking: these guys are trying to keep the poster from setting his house on fire or electrocuting himself. It's one thing to make a mistake with plumbing or tiling, but mistakes with electricity can be lethal. We all have different areas of expertise, and you may be very skillful in a number of them...but it also was apparent from your posts that there were some holes in your knowledge base on this one. My advice: don't be so sensitive when people are trying to prevent you from making a deadly mistake.

Point taken. I understand safety comes first especially with eletrical. I was simply looking for some pointers or suggestions on where the problem might be, ie: plain logic of what might cause it. In any case, thanks to everyone for the safety considerations.

tookien1-
It takes a good person to accept constructive criticism, so thanks for taking my comment in the sense it was intended. And I hope you aren't going to abandon these forums. I've been on here several years, both asking and commenting, and I've found that almost everyone here has good intentions.