Connector system with connector position assurance

An electrical connector comprising:

• a housing having a front end and defining a cavity at the front end that is configured to receive a mating connector therein, the housing including a first protrusion that defines a hard stop surface;
• and
• a connector position assurance (CPA) element mounted on the housing and moveable relative to the housing between an extended position and an inserted position, the CPA element in the inserted position being more proximate to the front end of the housing than when the CPA element is in the extended position, the CPA element including a base and two beams extending from the base towards the front end of the housing, the beams spaced apart from one another by a gap, the beams configured to receive a tab of the mating connector into the gap as the mating connector is received in the cavity, the tab engaging and deflecting the first and second beams laterally outward relative to one another from a blocked position of the beams to a clearance position of the beams,
• wherein, when the beams of the CPA element are in the blocked position, movement of the CPA element from the extended position to the inserted position is mechanically blocked by the hard stop surface of the first protrusion abutting at least one of the beams of the CPA element, and
• wherein, when the beams of the CPA element are in the clearance position, the beams clear the hard stop surface of the first protrusion to allow the CPA element to be moved from the extended position to the inserted position.

An electrical connector comprising:

• a housing having a body, a coupling lever, and a post, the body defining a cavity at a front end of the housing that is configured to receive a mating connector therein, the body further including a platform with a top side that faces the coupling lever, the coupling lever pivotable relative to the body about a fulcrum, the coupling lever including a latching surface that engages a catch of the mating connector when the mating connector is in a fully mated position to secure the mating connector to the housing, the post extending vertically upwards from the top side of the platform and defining a hard stop surface;
• and
• a connector position assurance (CPA) element mounted on the housing and disposed between the coupling lever and the platform of the body, the CPA element slidable between an extended position and an inserted position along the top side of the platform, the CPA element, in the inserted position, disposed more proximate to the front end of the housing than when the CPA element is in the extended position, the CPA element including a base and a first beam extending from the base towards the front end of the housing, the first beam configured to be engaged by the mating connector and deflected from a blocked position to a clearance position as the mating connector is loaded into the cavity,
• wherein, when the first beam of the CPA element is in the blocked position, movement of the CPA element from the extended position to the inserted position is mechanically blocked by the hard stop surface of the post abutting the first beam of the CPA element, and
• wherein, when the first beam of the CPA element is moved to the clearance position by the mating connector, the first beam clears the hard stop surface of the post to allow the CPA element to be moved from the extended position to the inserted position.