Frozen pump pipes - please help!

[wgilroy]

Beachcomber 550x (2003).  The tub gets used every other weekend throughout the year.
A few days ago I opened the cover and noticed the display was off and the water didn't feel as warm as it should. 
I went to the circuit panel and the breaker was tripped.
I reset it and it tripped again.
I pulled the pump housing/step off and noticed that it was covered in snow!
We had had a minor snow storm that week with cold temps (0 to low teens F) with very high winds.  The step wasn't pushed up tight against the tub so the wind blew snow and cold in.
The knife valves didn't move so I assumed everything from the intake to the output side was frozen.  I didn't see any cracks.
I put a heat gun on everything for a while and I could hear the ice breaking loose inside the pipes.
I hit the breaker again and the power stayed on, but I have an FL code flashing with the water temp on the display.  Also the Heat light won't come on.  The flow switch is about a year old.
I placed a larger heater on the system for several hours until the pipes and motor were warm to the touch and the knife valves moved freely.
I banged on the flow switch as the Beachcomber website recommended. I also pulled the filter in case something was clogging it there.
But the pump motor and heater are not turning on.  When I push the massage motor button, I hear a click in the control board area.

What should my next steps be?
Test power to the motor?
Short the flow switch on the board and see if it fires up?

 

[CanadianSpaTech]

At the back end of the motor there is a dust cap dead center on the motor. Remove the cap and you will see the shaft of the motor and it has a slot in it. Put a screwdriver in the slot and see if the shaft turns. If it turns freely check your fuses. If it is stuck and won't turn then you either need more heat and thaw or the pump is seized and needs to be rebuilt. The FL won't go away and the heat won't turn on until you have water flow over the flow switch from the pump associated with heat and filtering.  Just a 1/4 cup of frozen water in the bottom of the wet end will lock the impeller in place. Ice takes a while to thaw and just a couple of hours with a heater might not be enough. Let us know results

 

[wgilroy]

Thanks for the advice.  I'll try what you recommended and post the results.
Are the fuses located in the circuit board area?

 

[CanadianSpaTech]

Are the fuses located in the circuit board area?

Yes

 

[wgilroy]

ok here is what I did and where things are at.
I tried removing the dust cover, but there wasn't room to stick a screwdriver in to test the shaft.
I checked continuity on the fuses - one was at 1 ohm and the other was at .2.  I figure the first one is shot for sure, so I replaced both and bought a couple of spares.
Before giving it power, I put a heater on everything again for a couple hours to make sure it was all thawed. 
It wasn't.
Soon as I hit the breaker, a spark popped out of the motor and flipped the breaker.
I took the plumbing apart to find the motor still had ice in the wet end frame.
So I dismantled all of the plumbing from knife valve to knife valve and brought the motor in and let it thaw out in the shower over night.
I could clearly see that there was no ice in any of the remaining plumbing.
After thawing overnight, the motor spun by hand with no resistance.
The next day I re-installed all the plumbing, opened the knife valves and bled the air out.
Hit the breaker, and again - no movement from the motor, then a "pop" and some sparks and the breaker tripped.

So now I'm not sure what to do.  Is the motor shot?  Is it serviceable?  It is from 2003 so it's had a long run.  I'm not sure if there are any local shops that will rebuild electric motors.  I can look into it.
I found the same brand motor (waterway), new, online for about 250.00 but it is a half HP more than the original (4HP vs 3.5HP).  Will using a slightly more powerful motor be detrimental?

 

[CanadianSpaTech]

Match the amp draw on the hi and low speeds. Don't go by HP ratings. They mean little in reality. Should be on the white tag on the side of the motor.

 

[wgilroy]

I ordered a new motor.  Same brand, frame size, in/out size, and same volts/amps.  Claims to be .5 HP more than the original motor.

 

[A.O.]

Well I'm interested, did you get the new motor and does it work now?

 

[wgilroy]

I did get the new motor and it worked great.  Well mostly great.
There was still a flow problem, but probably because an internal pipe/jet froze.  The knife valves are a little leaky and while waiting for the new motor to arrive, the water level had dropped about 75%!  I of course refilled the tub before turning the motor on, but I was getting a flow code.  I waited over night and added some boiling water to it the next day.  After several hours, everything must have thawed because the flow error went away.
However only low speed was working.  Which was fine for heating the water back up.
When I attempted to use high speed, the motor and heat would shut off.
I tested electrical and found that high speed was reading 17 volts AC. 
I ended up tracing the issue to a bad connection where the lead for the pump attaches to the control board.  After I cleaned the connection everything worked properly.

 

[A.O.]

I did get the new motor and it worked great.  Well mostly great.
There was still a flow problem, but probably because an internal pipe/jet froze.  The knife valves are a little leaky and while waiting for the new motor to arrive, the water level had dropped about 75%!  I of course refilled the tub before turning the motor on, but I was getting a flow code.  I waited over night and added some boiling water to it the next day.  After several hours, everything must have thawed because the flow error went away.
However only low speed was working.  Which was fine for heating the water back up.
When I attempted to use high speed, the motor and heat would shut off.
I tested electrical and found that high speed was reading 17 volts AC. 
I ended up tracing the issue to a bad connection where the lead for the pump attaches to the control board.  After I cleaned the connection everything worked properly.

YAY, good deal!