Electronic Flashers

For LED purposes...does anyone know how electronic flashers work? I thought they werent supposed to rely on load. I had bought a variable load electronic flasher in hope to get a more controlled "on/off" equal interval than a thermal flasher and so i can hear the distinct "click"...also in case I ever wanted to convert to LEDs.
Well it doesnt have the interval i was hoping for although it has the click I can hear. It still seems to rely on load because it flashes faster with a smaller load and slower with a heavier load.
But when I tried hooking a 12v LED array to it (0.5 amp load on bright), it lights dimly but not enough load to make it flash. I also tried in addition, a 6v LED array with resistors and it still didnt make it flash, although with an incandescent it does.
So any explanation for this? I thought electronic flashers are supposed to work with LEDs as opposed to thermal?

Update: If i add a 5W 27/30ohm resistor, it flashes perfectly at a perfect interval, but a 16ohm makes it stay on longer than off which is how i dont like it and how it currently acts in my car.

I am getting confused. An electronic flasher(something that turn a circuit on and off using electronic components) shouldn't be making any clicking noise. Only a thermal flasher(one that use the heating effect of a bimetallic strip) will produce the tick sounds that you want. If I'm not wrong, what you have is a thermal flasher. The frequency of a thermal flasher is dependent on the electrical load wherelse an electronic flasher shouldn't.

Automotive flashers

The clicking you hear is a relay ticking on and off.

I'm pretty sure some of the flashers have to sense current. They're designed to change the flash rate when you have a bulb burned out, so that you'll notice. I bet they add circuitry in there just on purpose to do that.

Sounds like time to build a flasher...

Originally posted by NightShift:

So any explanation for this? I thought electronic flashers are supposed to work with LEDs as opposed to thermal?

Update: If i add a 5W 27/30ohm resistor, it flashes perfectly at a perfect interval, but a 16ohm makes it stay on longer than off which is how i dont like it and how it currently acts in my car.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Is your power supply possibly dropping in voltage with the heavier load?
And maybe with the low load 12V LED array, it doesn't draw enough current to supply the flasher circuitry; the load needs to pull enough current for a sufficient voltage differential between the flasher contacts for it to work.
The standard flashers depend on the series current to heat up the bimetallic strip to make and break contact as it heats and cools, but the heavy duty flashers should just use the voltage drop across the flasher circuitry. Still needs a minimum load, though it should be less sensitive to the load for flash rate.

A good alternative is a 555 pulsing a relay.
You get clicking, and it can handle a wide load.

A great overview of automotive turn signal flashers:

http://relays.tycoelectronics.com/app_pdfs/13c3310.pdf