The two little buttons in the hose fitting are low voltage contacts that turn the motor on when the metal hose is inserted, this completes the circuit.

In your case the circuit is completed before you put the hose end in, so yes, there is a short in that set of wires somewhere. You need to remove the fittings where the hose goes in, ( all of them) and inspect for a crossed, damaged, or otherwise defective wire. When you find the one place it is damaged, it will work correctly all over.

Good luck. You might find it in 2 minutes, you might need a half day. You could always run new control wires to each location if you can not find the bad spot.