What if the engine light doesn't come on, how can you tell what is wrong with the 93 Nissian Maxima will start up, but when you put it in gear, the engine shuts down?

It probably has fuel injection. There are sensors that tell the fuel injection how much fuel to put into the engine. The auto supplies sell a diagnostic tool that you plug into a socket on the car, usually under the dash. Plug it in and it will flash a dash light in the dash to tell you what is wrong (like morse code). I've used it on my 93 chevy truck and it flashes number 1 pause, then 2, both three times, that's a 12 means starting diagnostic, then flashes number of what part or parts are functioning wrong, made for many makes of car. Recently mine had similar problem, coolant sensor was telling engine computer it was hotter than car actually was, had to hold throttle to floor to start, it was code 15. The instructions tell you what that means. That might help you.

check the accelerator position sensor. As for the rest The engine light is telling you that the CPU has found
sensor/s outside set parameters during the checking process. Have the fault codes read before wasting time and money guessing what has failed. Replace with
genuine items only as aftermarket units are not always compatible with the settings in the CPU.

Always buy OEM sensors.

I suspect you have two separate issues your lights staying on is possibly a faulty stop and tail light bulb check both , I suspect you may also have a faulty starter motor.

You may have a loose or dirty battery connection. Take of the cables and clean the battery lugs and the terminals. Make sure they are tight when you put them back. Check the connections on the starter as well as the ingnition comes from there. Disconnect the earth cable first and put it on last, this is to prevent heavy shorts that can cause some damage.

That is idle air control (IAC) system malfunction,it's causes may include:
IAC motor connector is damaged (check connector and pins for damage, and moisture);
One or more IAC circuits open or shorted to ground;
One or more IAC circuits are shorted to voltage;
IAC has failed; or PCM has failed
You can clearing the fault codes. Then unplug the IAC and start the engine. If the P0505 code doesn't reset, replace the IAC. It is internally shorting one of the IAC circuits. If the code DOES return after unplugging the IAC and starting the engine, then you know it isn't the IAC motor. Visually check the wiring harness all the way back to the PCM. You may need to visually inspect the harness by removing all the insulation off the wires. It is possible that the wires could be shorting to eachother or to other wires in the harness.

Hope this helpful.
greetings

Plus: DTC table click here.

Nothing wrong. Doesn't that seem strange to you

The ABS & Trac came on because that system has issues

There may be stored data, if not a code present

The mechanic has to component test to find the problem

These guys spend too much time with a scan tool & I
think some of them are waiting for it to tell them something

Doesn't work that way. If everything goes as it should, the
scanner shows what the computer sees,that's all,& that can
be a lot,but you have to move on & use different skills that
not everyone has learned yet apparently

Try another shop

That really isn't a diagnostic test etc,just looking at data
stream,if they see nothing out of range they quit

That doesn't help you any,the problem is still there,intermitent
maybe, but there.

Why would you drive around several weeks,not knowing why the MIL Light came on? Take it to a repair shop.

the knock sensor is not the problem it is telling you you have a knock does Engine. make exec. noise if so find out why could be a timing problem

adjust the idling, if too low then it can't sustain the power needed to keep the engine running when it engages.