Check firstly that the engine compartment and the underside of the engine transaxle are in the same sort of state that they were in when you examined the car prior to buying it; if everything was spotlessly clean then but is now covered with oil then there can be little doubt that either the engine and transaxle were steam cleaned for your inspection and that the test run (if any) was too short, or that this is clear evidence of skulduggery such as the replacement of the engine which you saw during your inspection with another. It is easy to perform an engine transplant on the Beetle.
Check the generator drive belt for deflection. Check that the tinware set screws are all in position and that they have been tightened correctly.
Trace back any mysterious lengths of wire which do not appear on the circuit diagram in your workshop manual; they are probably add-ons and might well at some stage in the future overload the fuse for the circuit they are tapping. A blown fuse might not at first sight seem too dangerous, but were your lights to extinguish whilst you were driving at any sort of speed on unlit roads then the consequences could be terminal. If you really wish to be thorough then pay special attention to all earth connections – most intermittent electrical faults can be attributed to poor earths.
Check the generator drive belt for deflection. Check that the tinware set screws are all in position and that they have been tightened correctly.
Trace back any mysterious lengths of wire which do not appear on the circuit diagram in your workshop manual; they are probably add-ons and might well at some stage in the future overload the fuse for the circuit they are tapping. A blown fuse might not at first sight seem too dangerous, but were your lights to extinguish whilst you were driving at any sort of speed on unlit roads then the consequences could be terminal. If you really wish to be thorough then pay special attention to all earth connections – most intermittent electrical faults can be attributed to poor earths.
