What would make my Kenmore fridge leak when defrosting?

Your defrost circuit is working fine. It's the defrost drain that's clogged somewhere along the way.

Hi,

Check out these tips...they can help you figure out what is going wrong withyour refrigerator

Refrigeratornot Cooling or Fridge not Cooling

How to Defrost Refrigerator DefrostTimer Problem

WaterRunning in refrigerator from Freezer

Refrigeratoror Freezer not Cooling or Getting Cold
heatman101

Check that the defrost drain of hole is not blocked

the defrost drain pan is plugged up,you need to defrost it and run a wire down the drain tray hole so it can drain to the bottom as it defrosts otherwise it defrosts and runs everywhere else and re freezes

Clean out the defrost drain. There is a drain in the freezer that lets all the defrost water run under the fridge. If that gets clogged then all the water runs into the freezer and can even leak onto the floor

Most of the time that problem is caused by your drain hole in the freezer being blocked up with food or trash....or sometimes ice. Every 8, 10, or 12 hours depending on your defrost timer you fridge will defrost itself and drain the water under the fridge to a pan. If that drain is plugged then the water runs into the bottom of the freezer and sometimes will leak out onto the floor of your house. Another thing that it could be is the icemaker. Make sure the icemaker is not spilling water all over. If your icemaker is working ok, and there is not icecicles all over then rule out the icemaker. I would bet it's your drain.

does it have an icemaker? if so icemakers bad

The drain is clogged and needs to be snaked out.

hi August.
Cause: A blocked defrost drain is one of the most common causes of water leakage. This happens when food particles or other debris clogs up the drain hose, which can lead to ice buildup and, eventually, water leaking out of the freezer and refrigerator.
3 common refrigerator problems you can easily fix yourself

The freezer drain hose will drain the defrost water into a drip pan at the bottom of the freezer. When this pan becomes full, it will leak water onto the floor. This is a regular maintenance task whenever the freezer defrosts. Empty the drip pan during the defrost cycle.
How to Fix Water Leaking From the Bottom of Freezer

Why is my fridge leaking water on the floor? If the refrigerator is leaking water it's possible that the refrigerator has a clogged or freezing defrost drain. If the defrost drain freezes the defrost water will overflow the drain and drip down to the bottom of the compartment, If enough water accumulates in the bottom it can run out onto the floor.
SOLVED Water leak in refrigerator Refrigerator

We were able to fix the freezer water leak. We unscrewed the false freezer floor and the inside back panel. Ice had accumulated on the freezer floor and the defrosting drain was frozen. We removed the ice by using a blow dryer then poured boiling hot water onto the frozen drain hole. The frozen water in the drain pipe hole eventually melted and the water released into the defrosting drip pan at the bottom of the refrigerator. Problem solved. We no longer have water leaking into the refrigerator.