Quick brake question

[Benjamin Weste Pearre]

I've decided to rename my 1990 200 "Hyatt".

The current question is about brakes.  During hard braking, I hear a
grindy noise.  This sounds like it could be worn-out pads, and in all
fairness I haven't gotten around to checking them yet (!), but the
current pads have 12000 (mostly highway) miles on them, and I don't
use the brakes that much.  I'm assuming that the pads will be OK --
what are the other possible sources for grinding noises?  Other
components of the brake system?  Grit stuck in a pad?

I should note that the brake pad wear sensor keeps beeping, but that's
not indicating worn pads, but rather a faulty connection in the brake
pad wear sensor circuit -- it does it even when the pads are fine.  So
it's not much use for diagnosis.  Maybe I should work on fixing it...

Cheers!
-Ben

-- 
Ben Pearre          1990 200TQA          http://hebb.mit.edu/~ben