Sounds like a possible loose ground wire. However, if your battery is running 17v you have a regulator problem.

 

I have 2 regulators 1 brand new OEM and 1 old OEM both test good but give same results

 

Loose connection, positive or negative, can cause the voltage to spike.

 

What about the display flickering in and out could that be the source possibly or just a by product

 

There's a stack of ground wires on the frame, you can see it from in front of the left rear tire looking forward . I'd check those closely along with the battery terminals. Don't know if they improved any but my terminals were just metal bands and wouldn't tighten up at all.

 

Run temporary wires to and from voltage regulator, bypassing the factory ones. See if your issue resolved itself. If so, at least you've narrowed it down to a set of wires and connections.

 

How did you test the battery?

It needs a good LOAD test not this new fangled battery capacity test.

Next time you get it to quit using the winch put a volt meter directly on the battery terminals. If the voltage checks good then work your way toward the winch one cable/wire/connection at a time. You will probably find the culprit. If you dont then go back to the battery and work toward the starter and fuse box. This includes the ground all the way to the frame and motor.

I know when the battery in my rs1 went bad i was seeing high voltages most of the day. Then it went dead. Jump started it and all was good while the other battery was connected. As soon as the jumper battery was disconnected the unloaded regulator went past 18v and the entire system shut off.

 

I went to a shop and had it tested because I was in West Virginia. He said the battery tested fine. and it’s also only about three months old.