Method for diagnosing the integrity of a swirl generating system for an internal combustion engine

The present invention provides a method for diagnosing the integrity of a swirl generating system for an internal combustion engine, wherein the system comprises the following components: a plurality of swirl controlling flaps (123); an actuator (14) which is provided with a rotating shaft (140); movable chains (13,15) which mechanically connect a swirl control component on the rotating shaft of the actuator; an actuator control device (16) which is used for moving the rotating shaft in a first direction (A) to a first final position (FP1) and in a second opposite direction (B) to a second final position (FP2); and an actuator sensor (141) which is used for sensing the position of the rotating shaft. The method comprises the following steps: configuring at least one mechanical stop (18) on one component (13) of the movable chain for indirectly limiting the movement of the rotating shaft of the actuator at a first checking position (CP1), wherein the first checking position is consistent with the first final p