Patent ID: 8038455

Claim:
An electrical connector assembly comprising: a female connector; and a male connector releasably coupled to said female connector along a mating axis so that a plurality of female terminals disposed in the female connector are matable to a plurality of terminals disposed in the male connector, the male connector including a cavity, and a generally planar retractable stabilizer is receivably coupled in the cavity, said male connector defining at least one aperture therethrough and at least one blocking feature disposed along an inner surface of the male connector in the cavity, said retractable stabilizer movable in said cavity between a blade alignment position when the female and the male connector are unmated and a seated position when the female and the male connector are mated together, the seated position being axially remote from the blade alignment position, said retractable stabilizer including, a base defining a plurality of holes therethrough adapted for receiving the plurality of terminals of the male connector, the base including, at least one position arm extending from a surface of the base and in communication with the at least one aperture for securing the retractable stabilizer in the blade alignment position when the female and the male connector are unmated, at least one retention feature in communication with the blocking feature to prevent the retractable stabilizer from moving beyond the blade alignment position in the cavity when the female and the male connector are unmated, and a yieldable, inward flexing securing member extending from the base, the inward flexing securing member flexing inward when in communication with the female connector when the female and the male connector are mated together to releasably couple the retractable stabilizer to the female connector, and the inward flexing securing member further flexing inward so that the female connector is releasable from the retractable stabilizer when the retractable stabilizer is disposed at the blade alignment position when the female and the male connector are unmated.