A heads up on power

"If the grounded (neutral) service conductor is opened or not provided at all, objectionable neutral current will flow on metal parts of the electrical system and dangerous voltage will be present on the metal parts providing the potential for electric shock. This dangerous electrical shock condition is of particular concern in buildings that contain swimming pools, spas and hot tubs.

Again - not an expert - I can try to explain - though I would have to know more about the circuit.....

If you do not have a neutral but you do have a ground then the ground becomes the neutral - there has to be at least two wires for any circuit to work. So with no neutral and the return leg of the circuit now going to ground you have a hot ground. If you have metal junction boxes and metal outlet boxes or whatever they should technically be connected to ground to protect anyone touching the metal from getting a jolt. But now with no neutral you have a hot ground and this puts juice on any grounded metal part. That is about the best I can try to explain this.

In addition, when the grounded (neutral) conductor from the secondary of a transformer is open or not present, the operating voltage for the loads on one line will rise, while the operating voltage for the other line will drop. Another hazard exists from over or under line voltage, and that is a fire from excessive heat."

This one I am not sure about but it does sound like the bad neutral would have to occur at the transformer for this to happen. Though anything is possible it would seem this situation would mean there would be no neutral anywhere in the system as it would mean a bad neutral at the transformer. I am not sure why this would cause one leg of the circuit to go up and the other to go down. It would make sense that if one leg goes up the other would go down - I get that - but I don't get why or what condition would cause this. Still sounds weird. Maybe somehow one of the hots now acts as at least a partial neutral for the other hot?? Doesn't sound possible but I would not be the expert to try to explain it.

Back in the mid-60s I spent over 6 months being trained as an electronics technician by the US Navy. It was a very long time ago and I never worked in electronics after the Navy. But I do have some understanding of electricity. I forgot most of what I was ever taught. But there are some basics and I still know how to wire a house or an RV for basic electric needs. But certainly no expert. I do know a couple electricians but have no way to contact them to ask a question.

I think maybe it is possible a transformer went bad or something like that. All electricity can be explained using physics math formulas. I forgot most of the formulas so I am probably missing something but can't figure how a bad circuit would add up to 160 VAC.