Insert key. Turn key. Vroom. That is the way modern cars work. Today’s ignition systems, combined with fuel injection or throttle bodies, means engines start up on the first try.

Technology is good, but it hampers the do-it-yourselfers. Unless you pay close attention, it is hard to know when a battery needs replacing.

In the not so distant past (at least for me), starting a car was different. Insert key. Pump the accelerator (insert number here) times. Turn key. Rrrr – rrrrr – rrrrr – vroom. When the battery was starting to lose its oomph, it would be rrrr – rrrrr – rrrrr – rrrr – rrrrr – rrrrr – rrrr – rrrrr – rrrrr – vroom.

For the past several months, I have thought about the old days. Starters had to spin carbureted engines faster to build enough compression to fire up. But I had been noticing the Honda took a fraction of a second longer to kick off. At times, if the air conditioner was on, it was questionable whether it would start. When that happened while I was in a remote location, I started to worry.

A check revealed I had 12.5 volts going through the battery but I knew that was misleading. The key was the amperage. I didn’t need a load tester to know I needed a new battery. Replacing it was no problem. Baking soda and water neutralized the acidic buildup on the old battery terminals and cables. The twisting of a few wrenches had the old one unhooked and the new one slipped into the waiting slot.

And apparently, the timing couldn’t have been better. I replaced the battery last Friday and the old girl fired up a lot quicker on the first turn of the key. Then came Monday.

I ran by the house Monday afternoon before heading to Bay Minette for the city council meeting. When I pulled up, my wife’s car was in the drive because she was cleaning up (or out) the garage. I didn’t think much of it until I returned home close to dusk and noticed her car’s running lights were on.

I went in to check and see if she had just got home (lights stay on for a while on modern cars). From her attire, it was obvious she had been at home for a while. In her haste to get the car backed out before I got home, Kathy was knocked out of her normal routine. She forgot to turn the car off. She turned the engine off but the key was left in the “on” position. In addition to the running lights, power was being used to light up the dash like the cockpit of a jumbo jet. (With Airbus bringing jobs to LA, maybe that should be “like an A320 cockpit.”)

The clicker wouldn’t open the door, we had to use the key. Then, there wasn’t enough power to pop the trunk, where the battery is located on her car. As I searched for a keyhole in the trunk, Kathy’s perseverance on the clicker resulted in the trunk lid unlatching and opening.

She was starting to freak out, wondering what we were going to do and how she would get to work the next morning. I knew where there was a brand new battery to use to jump off her car. A check showed her battery was down to 8.5 volts. With the battery in the trunk and my car right behind hers, it was an easy matter to hook up the jumper cables. About 10 minutes later, enough juice had been transferred to get her car to crank.

There was a message on her dash to “Service the charging system” but that went away after revving the engine a couple of times. A quick trip down the road at highway speeds has the battery up and going again. The following morning her car fired right up.

After putting off replacing my battery, it was almost like it was meant for me to finally change it when I did.

William Moore is the Senior Editor at Gulf Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at wmoore@gulfcoastnewspapers.com