A fuel
injector (100, 200) comprises a gas delivery chamber (48) defining an opening (20) for delivering the gaseous fuel therethrough to an
internal combustion engine; a housing body (22) defining a
working fluid chamber (34) and a
needle guide bore (24) extending from the
working fluid chamber (34) to the gas delivery chamber (48); a valve needle (112, 212) movable within the
needle guide bore (24) along a valve needle axis (112', 212') to open and close the opening (20) defined by the gas delivery chamber (48); a needle control valve (30) for controlling movement of the valve needle (112, 212) by controlling a pressure of a
working fluid in the working fluid chamber (34); an annular groove (52, 502) defined around the valve needle (112, 212); and an annular seal member (60, 600) arranged at least partially within the annular groove (52, 502) configured to provide a seal between an outer surface (113, 213) of the valve needle (112, 212) and an internal surface (24a) of the
needle guide bore (24). The seal member (60, 600) comprises a passage (62, 602) extending therethrough and is movable axially within the annular groove (24) from a first position to a second position when the pressure of working fuel in the working fluid chamber (48) is less than the pressure of the gaseous fuel in the gas delivery chamber (48). In the first position, the passage (62, 602) is blocked to prevent the working fluid from flowing through the passage (62, 602) of the seal member (60, 600) into the gas delivery chamber (48) and in the second position, the passage (62, 602) is unblocked to allow the gaseous fuel to leak through the passage (62, 602) of the seal member (60, 600) into the working fluid chamber (34).