how do i tell if the starter is not working? the car is in parking. all power and ground seems to be connected. there is a clicking noise when i try to crank. the battery is good. somehow, there's smoke coming from the positive terminal when cranking.

i use to have starter problems a few months ago where i have to crank it twice or more to start the engine (the first few times would stop after split seconds or so before the engine starts). it was running smoothly until yesterday, and it just suddenly didn't start anymore.

it has high possibilities that it's the starter but just kinda lazy to take it off and check. any quick experience thought would help. thanks.