On the Rhino RGB system, you can get whip lights with brake and turn signals three ways today. Whips are auxiliary and accent lighting that can be wired to the vehicle's signals, and the setup you pick depends on whether only the whips, or other lights too, should follow those signals.
The short answer
Connex Lite puts turn, brake and reverse on a pair of whips and nothing else. Connex Pro adds five output channels, so rock lights and halos can follow the signals too. RhinoLink is a controller that reads the vehicle's signals itself, for builds that want to choose how each signal looks and what else it switches. If the whips are all you want to signal, Connex Lite is the right size.
Is Connex Lite enough for brake and turn signals on whips?
Yes, when the whips are the only lights you want to signal. Connex Lite is an add-on board with two output channels, left and right, for Rhino 2.0 and 2.5 Fattie whips. It takes the data wire from your Rhino RGB Bluetooth controller and feeds the whips. Connex Lite needs a Rhino Bluetooth controller, so count one if you do not own it yet. The whips blink amber for a turn, flash red five times and then hold solid red for brake, and go solid white in reverse. Rock lights and halos connect straight to the controller and do not follow the signals.
You choose a blink type on the product page. Internal Blink does the blinking on the board, so you do not need a separate turn signal or blinker kit. External Blink works with a third-party turn signal kit you already own. Either way the board needs 12 volt power through a fuse and relay, a ground, and a 12 volt trigger for each function you want: left, right, brake and reverse. The Connex Lite wiring guide lists each input.
RhinoLink controls auxiliary and accent lighting. It is not a replacement for required factory vehicle lighting. Lighting regulations vary — check local requirements before public-road use.
When do you need Connex Pro instead?
When more than the whips should follow the vehicle. Connex Pro has five output channels: a left and right full-feature pair for turn, brake and reverse, a left and right turn-only pair, and one pass-through channel that turn, brake and reverse never change. You tie each light to a channel. For example, whips and rear rock lights on the full-feature pair, halos or front rock lights on turn-only.
It also has internal or external blinking, a Street Only Mode that switches the show lighting off while turn, brake and reverse stay live, and left and right 12 volt relay outputs that fire with the left and right turn signal, for external lights. Those outputs trigger a relay and must never power a light directly. The Connex Switch Panel is a six-gang panel made for it, and the Connex Pro wiring guide covers the connections.
What does RhinoLink add over a Connex board?
On RhinoLink you do not need a Connex board for turn, brake and reverse. RhinoLink is the controller, and those signals come in on its own inputs. You name its five channels for what is bolted to them, such as Left Whip or Rock Lights, and each input chooses which channels answer it. The Connex boards give you the standard brake and reverse looks described above. RhinoLink lets you pick each look from eight brake, ten turn and three reverse patterns, and you set which signal wins when two arrive together.
What else it adds, such as relay outputs for accessories and settings that live on the controller, is covered in one controller for whip lights and rock lights. RhinoLink runs the same 2.0 and 2.5 Fattie whips. It is more controller than a whips-only build needs.
Which setup fits your build?
- Whips only, signals only: Connex Lite on your Rhino Bluetooth controller.
- Whips plus rock lights or halos that follow the turn signal, or a Street Only switch: Connex Pro.
- Many signals and accessories, or your own choice of brake, turn and reverse looks: RhinoLink.
- Color and patterns only: none of these. A Bluetooth controller is enough.
To see every Rhino controller side by side, compare Rhino controllers.
What do these setups not cover?
Connex boards run on the Rhino RGB system only. They do not control Axion rock lights or Rhino 3.0 RGB+W whips, and Connex Lite is not available for the 3.0. RhinoLink does not run the 3.0 whips today, so none of the three setups here applies to them. If you have 3.0 whips and want turn, brake and reverse, contact us before you order. The whip comparison explains what separates the three platforms, and RhinoLink's compatibility list shows which lights RhinoLink runs.
This is part of Building RhinoLink, a behind-the-scenes series on how the controller was built.
Price and current availability for Connex Lite and RhinoLink are shown on their own product pages.