Method of operating a fuel cell stack having a temporarily disabled drain valve

A system comprising:

• a fuel cell stack including:
• a cathode;
• an anode;
• a sump configured for collecting water from the anode;
• and
• a temporarily disabled drain valve that is otherwise configured to transition from a first position to a second position and thereby moldulate water drained from the sump;
• an electric machine electrically connected to and powered by the fuel cell stack;
• and
• a controller in communication with the fuel cell stack, having a processor, and configured to maintain operation of the fuel cell stack when the temporarily disabled drain valve is disposed in the first position via execution of instructions by the processor, wherein execution of the instructions causes the controller to concurrently:
• increase a first pressure in the anode;
• decrease a second pressure in the cathode;
• and
• maintain a relative humidity of less than a threshold relative humidity in the cathode.

A device comprising:

• a set of drive wheels;
• a fuel cell stack including:
• a cathode;
• an anode;
• a sump configured for collecting water from the anode;
• and
• a temporarily disabled drain valve that is otherwise configured to transition from a first position to a second position and thereby modulate water drained from the sump;
• an electric traction motor electrically connected to and powered by the fuel cell stack, wherein the electric traction motor has an output member coupled to the set of drive wheels;
• and
• a controller in communication with the fuel cell stack, having a processor, and configured to maintain operation of the fuel cell stack when the temporarily disabled drain valve is disposed in the first position via execution of instructions by the processor, wherein execution of the instructions causes the controller to concurrently:
• increase a first pressure in the anode;
• decrease a second pressure in the cathode;
• and
• maintain a relative humidity of less than a threshold relative humidity in the cathode.